Preparations
by fuujintoraijin
Summary: The eighth is in the midst of heavy preparations for Aizen and the coming war. In the countdown to the battle, Nanao and Kyōraku start to understand more about each other. Independent story in midst of current setting in manga and anime. Spoilers included
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Day Off

Every squad in the Gotei 13 was training more than they ever had in the previous several centuries. The vigor and energy they poured into their fighting was such that it reminded Kyōraku of his early days as a cadet and neophyte shinigami. As a youth, he had generally participated in trainings on account of his friends' cajoling. As a result, his lackadaisical attitude had not particularly hindered his progress. Indeed, he had risen through the ranks remarkably fast and entirely on his own merit. The combination of his prowess in both fighting and evading confrontation had resulted in his being one of the most long-standing and senior of the Gotei 13 captains.

There were deeper philosophical reasons for his early attention to honing his skills and his continued position as captain, though; Kyōraku little liked fighting or warfare, but he understood that to better protect and care for the serenity he craved proficiency in battle was necessary. There was, of course, the added motivation that he'd heard women generally preferred strength and power to poetry and covert kiss attacks.

Still, it remained Kyōraku's lifelong paradox that to support harmony he had to be adept in war. This was a mindset he thought he'd shared with Tōsen and Aizen until, well… until each of those men showed their means of establishing peace were far removed from Kyōraku's. For Aizen, nothing short of complete domination and control would satisfy him. His kind façade had fooled everyone, and he had warped Tōsen into following a perverted form of justice. It was a bitter betrayal, one that might result in the destruction of the shinigami's entire world and way of life. For that purpose they all trained. None harder than Kyōraku's own eighth division.

The dogged pace his squad kept had very little to do with their own captain, though. In so much as he cared for and watched over his company, Kyōraku was a solitary man. He was hardly one to force people to do anything they did not choose to do of their own free will. It was therefore quite surprising to see the training schedule his vice-captain had created. There was barely a day off to be had over the course of several weeks. Every discipline was carefully covered, from proper sword handling to kidō mastery. There would be guest teachers from other divisions, demonstrations, lectures, and weekly trials. He admitted that her inclusion of a sort of "jousting" competition into the summer festival was quite clever, but it seemed so much. Too much, really. Far, far too much. True, the squad would be likely more experienced and competent, but they might be so exhausted by the time of the eventual battle that in the end the training would be completely useless.

"Oi, Nanao-chan," he called from where he sat slumped before his desk. She looked up from the stacks of forms covering her desk to see him waving a single piece of paper. "What's this?"

Pushing her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose, vice-captain Ise Nanao leaned to look over her superior's shoulder.

"Our training schedule for the next month," she responded crisply. "If you look at the following sheet you will see that I have divided the entire division into new groups for this next series of workshops based on their previous performances."

Feeling the question was thus satisfactorily explained, she returned to her task at hand, only to put her brush down in exasperation a moment later, as her captain very clearly did not intend to end the discussion.

"Yes, I can see that. Thank you for the clarification. I merely mean, isn't it a bit too… intense? They have already been going over this same stuff for the past month or two. Don't you think it's about time to slacken the pace a bit?"

"This is a continuation of the preceding trainings. The level will be increased for those ready to move on, and there will be repeat lessons for those who have not yet adequately mastered the basics." She adjusted her glasses again, this time in such a way that her eyes were hidden by the glare.

"And," she continued in a steely tone, "there have not been any complaints from the members as of yet."

Kyōraku simply tilted his head back and laughed.

"No, I would think not. They wouldn't dare. My Nanao-chan always intimidates everyone she comes across," he mused with a grin. "Everyone except for me, that is. Eh, Nanao-chan?"

"If you say so, sir," she said, turning back to her paperwork.

"Now, now, just wait a moment. I'm not done yet. Maybe I'm a little out of the loop, but I'm quite sure this schedule is much stricter than any of the other squads. Even Zaraki's not asking his people to fight this much."

She simply pursed her lips in response. Honestly, she'd hoped he wouldn't notice that detail. Actually, she'd assumed he wouldn't even bother reading any of the papers she piled on his desk. The fact that he didn't have such absolute faith in her abilities to go through the endless regulations and carry out their orders was simultaneously insulting and reassuring.

"Not to mention," he continued, "you're the one doing most of this training. Even when you're not in charge, you've scheduled yourself to be at every single meeting. That combined with your abject servitude to paperwork means you more than anyone are working far too hard. You barely eat when I don't force you to, don't think I haven't noticed that."

"As ever, Taichō, you are more than welcome to participate in or conduct any of the trainings you should choose to attend."

He laughed again. "Nicely done, Nanao-chan. In one sentence you warmly welcome me and yet firmly put me in my place."

"Is a taichō's place not with his squad? I am sure the entire division would benefit from your leadership, insight and skill." Her words were icy – more so than usual. But then, even his playful banter was losing a little of its usual luster.

He sighed, stretched and walked over to the open window to look out on the courtyard below where his entire squadron, save the vice-captain and himself, were sparring. This was not even on the agenda. This was of their own free will and choosing.

"Nanao?"

"Yes, Taichō?"

"Send word around that tomorrow's trainings are cancelled. Everyone is to have a day off."

"But-"

"I will look over your schedule and find a way to pare it down so they will still learn the skills they need without killing themselves in the process."

"But, Taichō, without this intensive training they will be completely unprepared when Aizen attacks!"

For the third time he laughed, but this time the sound was hollow and bitter.

"And do you think that any degree of training we can provide in the few months we have left will prepare them for what is to come?"

She was stunned. "T-Taichō."

"Not more than a handful of the officers are possibly ready to take on a menos on their own. How will they do against a single arrancar?" His voice turned softer as he continued to look on his troops. "Most of them will die, Nanao-chan. They will die fighting with all they have, and maybe with their combined determination they will be able to help sway the tide. It is determination that will win the war. More than skill or power, the final battles will be won by those whose determination cannot be swayed. Let them enjoy their final days a bit more. Work them if you feel you must, but give them time to enjoy life. Allow them to cement memories. That will give them a Seireitei work protecting. That is where the determination will come from."

There was a tense pause between the two of them then Nanao picked up her brush once again and returned to her work.

"Of course, Taichō, as you command. I will send word around that tomorrow is a day off and that the training schedule will be adjusted pending your revisions."

Kyōraku sighed and continued looking out the window. She was a frustrating one. Her eagerness to do her job clouded her otherwise fairly good judgment. Nanao was naïve. Perhaps with a bit more experience she could overcome this bifurcated, logic-based understanding of the world she had. Hard work did not always result in success. The answers to life's questions were rarely found in books, at least not the ones she read. Solutions to problems did not always exist, and even when they did, oftentimes they were where you might least expect to find them. He wondered if he ever got through to her at all.

News of the cancelled trainings took everyone by surprise. Yes, Ise-fukutaichō was a taskmaster. This was well known and understood. However, she was also extremely good at what she did. Her carefully regimented control over herself extended also to her work skills, both in the office and in the battlefield. While she had no tolerance for sloth or misbehaving while on duty, she was surprisingly patient with those who failed to properly complete an exercise. On more than one occasion, she would stop and personally correct a frightened trainee with calmness and a level of understanding few would normally associate with their otherwise seemingly frigid vice-captain. As a result, even those not in the eighth division treated her with respect and occasionally a little fear. It was the delight of the entire eighth that no one, with the possible exception of their own captain, could fail to find their vice-captain impressive and intimidating. It was with the firm, solemn respect her subordinates held for her that allowed her to make such exacting demands of them. They followed her stringent orders not out of devotion, but from duty and with the full knowledge that what she asked of them was nothing compared with what she asked of herself.

Well then, what to do with a day off? Many chose to keep practicing anyway. Some felt this was a ploy their vice-captain was pulling. Others felt that, a day off or no, the impending battle was of such seriousness that even so much as a day's break could cost them their lives and Seireitei. There certainly where others who took the break to spend time with colleagues and have fun in Rukongai. They were the ones who understood that this was a gift from their captain – and that he would likely end up paying dearly for undermining Ise-fukutaichō.

As for the said party, to her, a day's rest from training and teaching meant a day attacking the bottomless stack of forms. Rather, this is what she had intended until her captain came in, picked up her inbox, dropped it in the trash bin, grabbed her hand and shunpo-ed out of the office before she had a chance to say a word. A day off was a day off, and that was that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Determination

"This is hardly an efficient use of time, Taichō." They had landed on the shore of a large pond right under a wide apple tree whose fruit was just starting to ripen.

"That's the idea," he grinned while settling himself below the tree. "Feel free to join me, Nanao-chan."

She watched as he folded his hands behind his head and tipped his hat to cover his face. After a moment he pushed it back to see her looking at him.

"Sit."

"Is that an order?"

"Does it need to be?"

With a noticeably audible sigh she sat beside him and pulled the book she'd thankfully brought with her onto her lap.

"I thought the idea of a day off was to spend it the way you want."

"It is. I'm spending my day the way I want."

"And what about me?"

"I'm spending your day the way I want to as well," he teased.

Shaking her head she simply opened the book and started to read. The lull of the late morning started to get to her though, and somehow regulations failed to keep her attention. Instead, she found herself looking out over the water.

"Book not capturing your attention?"

"Somehow clarifications on proper uniform storage don't hold much appeal."

He grunted his agreement. "I'm glad to hear it. I've worried over your apparent obsession with every monthly update. You know no one else looks at that stuff."

"That's why I feel I have to. What if everyone missed something important?"

"Like last year's fascinating look into the proper polishing methods of zanpakutō based on element type?"

"That one was useful!"

"And boring. And actually pretty counterproductive. A good conversation with your zanpakutō will teach you that same information. No, no, most of what you spend your precious time going over is produced by people who feel they have to justify their existences by the length of the paper trails they create in their lifetimes. And they have some long lifetimes."

She shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I just want to do my job the best I can."  
"I know, I know. Unfortunately, that gets in your way."

"What?" Due deference was gone. Now she was angry.

Being braver than most, Kyōraku didn't shrink from that tone. He shifted his hat and looked up at his fukutaichō.

"You don't trust yourself," he answered calmly. "You don't rely on instinct. Every action is the result of careful analysis. There's room for analysis, of course, but sometimes you have to just let loose and go where the wind takes you."

"Or your Taichō," she muttered under her breath.

"Yes, exactly," he replied, quite pleased. He grinned at her. "What's the root of all this training anyway, Nanao-chan? What are you trying to prove?"

"That my officers are prepared for battle and are ready to defend Seireitei, of course!"

"They're not. They won't be."

"Well I'm not willing to sit by and wait for them to be annihilated! If there's a problem I will do whatever I have to do to try to meet it head on! Maybe if you had properly trained your squad over the years they wouldn't be facing certain death!" She'd never been so angry before in her life. All the thoughts she'd suppressed for years suddenly seemed to come forth. She started to push herself up but he grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, wait. Let it out. You think I've failed the division."

"No, Taichō-"

"Do not lie to me," he said sharply. "Tell me what you're thinking or we'll never resolve this."

She paused and tried to will her body to stop trembling.

"I… I do not think that you have failed the division," she said slowly.

"But…?"

"But I do not think that taking a day off and reducing the training is the proper course of action. We are facing an enemy like we've never seen before. Whether they are truly prepared or not, I want them to feel like they are ready and that we have done our best for them."

"And I don't want to schedule away every moment of their lives, or at least whatever they have left. Give them time to _think_ at least."

"I don't want them to have time to think. If they're thinking, they're thinking of the impending war. I don't them to have a moment to worry or fear or doubt themselves. I want them to be completely on their game and ready to go. I want them focused and secure in their preparations."

Kyōraku watched her with a quizzical look on his face then suddenly broke into a laughing fit.

"Oh, Nanao-chan. Sometimes I think we're a mess together. We want the same thing, but we have completely different ways of getting it. I don't want them completely fixated on Aizen either, but what else can they possibly be focused on when they're training for him day and night? Why didn't you talk to me about this before? We could have worked something out so we're not giving the division mixed signals."

"I don't think that's different from normal."

"Hrm, true. But we can do better than that for them. 'Preparing' them for battle doesn't mean just training."

"Yamamoto-Genryūsai has encouraged us to hold mock battles and demonstrations as much as possible. He personally sent a correspondence around saying that the eighth's training schedule was a model for the other divisions."

"Is that why the other captains have been giving me the stink eye?" he mused.

"Taichō, everything I have done is completely in line with protocol and our orders," she argued.

"What a good little employee you are, Nanao-chan. You completely buy into whatever the boss says. The company is the most important thing in the world. Nothing else matters as long as the company is secure. As long as there is paperwork, there is no need for independent thought or action. There's no personal responsibility because, well, even if you do something that goes against your ethics, if it's because of orders then it doesn't really matter, does it?" he said bitterly.

She paused, unsure how to respond. This was a new tone from her jovial captain.

"Is that what you think of me?"

"No! No Soul Society paper-pushing drone would have stood beside me and confronted Yama-ji. You knew there was the chance you could be demoted, imprisoned, and possibly killed. You made a choice to defy convention, and I've never been prouder."

It was a surprising admission from him and caught her off guard. She looked away to blink back the tears that sprang to her eyes.

"Why did you come anyway?" he asked.

"It seemed like the right thing to do."

"Right for whom?"

"I don't know. I didn't know much about the situation. All I knew was that it was something both you and Ukitake-taichō felt strongly about. If it caused you of all people to react with that kind of energy I knew it had to be something. That was enough for me."

"Ah, so you do trust me?"

"Yes, Taichō. I've always trusted you."

"Well, I'm relieved to hear it. All this time I thought you were trying to prove you could handle the division on your own," he joked.

Nanao frowned. "What do you mean? I've been trying to get the squad to a level where we could properly support you."

"Hrm?"

"Taichō, in every battle the moment the tide starts to turn against us you come back and protect us."

"And this… is a bad thing? You see this as weakness?"

She sighed and watched a bird dive towards the water and fly away with a fish in its grasp.

"It is and it isn't. As a leader, your dedication to your squadron is commendable. It's exactly what it should be. That's why they follow you so readily. They'd do anything for you. They're not putting themselves through this ragged pace on my account. They're doing it for you. As a soldier and as a captain of the Gotei 13, though, yes, such complete dedication to your subordinates is a weakness. You are one of very few captains possibly capable of taking on Aizen. If the opportunity presents itself, you _can not_ turn back to rescue us. I talked it over with the division and they all agree with me. We will not be your blind spot. Whether ready or not, we will do our best to not fail you. Then you can focus your entire attention on the task at hand – eliminating the arrancar threat."

He looked at her for a moment then settled back down against the grass.

"Yare, yare, Nanao-chan. You can't just spring something like that on a man. I didn't even have a chance to grab a bottle of sake before we left the office. That's not the sort of information a person can take completely sober."

"I don't think you've ever been 'completely' sober."

"Well it's not by choice, I can tell you that. I figured if I gave you even half a second you'd have blasted my arm off, so I took my chances, got rid of that infernal paperwork and got you out of there. Right now I'm thinking a burned hand might have been worth it, though."

"But now you understand why we have to keep working so hard."

"No, now I understand why _you_ think you have to keep working so hard. Remember what I told you about determination? Yes, all right, maybe the desire to help me will be enough for some people, but overall that determination comes from having something you want to protect – like a person or an ideal or a home. Training doesn't provide that. Where do you think mine comes from?"

"Sake?"

"Oh cute, I'm being serious for once and Nanao decides to be the clown. Think for a moment. How do you think I'd feel knowing my subordinates were sacrificing themselves for me? Do you really think I could just put you all out of my mind and focus on the enemy? Is it my duty? Maybe. Is it something I could do? No."

"This from the man who for the past two days has been telling me how futile our chances are?"

"Chances of any one of us surviving aren't that good, but that doesn't mean we will lose. My determination comes from everyone around me. I can't just leave everyone and go off on my own. You know me well enough to know that I only fight when I absolutely have to. On my own, I'll run off, get drunk, compose tanka, and where will your sacrifice be then?"

"I admit I had not thought of that."

"Don't underestimate my vices, Nanao-chan. I'm a complete coward when I'm not faced with a situation that threatens the people and ideals I care about."

"And Kuchiki-san?"

"Rukia-chan? Yama-ji was wrong. You don't follow orders just for the sake of following them. I'm actually pretty grateful to Sōsuke for showing us that. Much easier to live with Yama-ji's grumbling than a guilty conscience. Besides, it was a favor to Jūshirō."

She sighed. "So what do we do now? You won't fight if there's no one there forcing you to do it, and the moment you see a downed soldier you'll lose all resolve and race him or her to the fourth."

He winked at her. "We'll just have to make sure my extremely attentive fukutaichō is by my side to make sure I do my duty. If the possibility of my Nanao-chan getting hurt doesn't inspire me to action, nothing will."

The ghost of a smile played on her lips as she shook her head. "I'll do my best. I'll try not to let you down, Taichō."

"Not possible, Nanao-chan. Not possible."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Concessions

Following their talk by the pond, there were some changes in the eighth division's trainings. They did continue; Kyōraku had to admit that too much free time in the face of an upcoming war could be a dangerous thing. But he took a more active interest and involvement in the proceedings. There would be no more of this martyrdom behind his back. They were a team – they supported him and he supported them. Part of his demonstrating this support was canceling the lectures. Demonstrations were one thing, but he'd never liked lectures. Only his Nanao could come to the conclusion that anything useful could be learned from a single person shouting at a bored group of soldiers. They were people of action. Telling meant nothing compared with doing.

Nanao watched the changes with caution. Concessions did have to be made in exchange for the captain alleviating some of her responsibilities. Trainings were finished much earlier and every evening ended with a lengthy dinner that turned into drinking parties. The sake they went through far exceeded the budget, but considering the changes she saw in her troops, Nanao figured she could allow a few important bills and forms to lapse so no one would catch on. And indeed, there were changes. The general spirit amongst her soldiers was much more relaxed and joyful. And yet, they still approached every morning's training sessions with energy and vigor, although she supposed part of that was her secretly substituting non-alcoholic sake towards the end of each evening. No one ever seemed to notice the difference, although she had gotten a few odd looks from her captain the first few times she tried it. Trainings were no longer a duty, they were… fun. With Kyōraku-taichō present, this was the environment she'd always wanted for her division. There was focus and hard work, but also joking and encouragement.

What Nanao did not realize was that the biggest change seemed to be with her. Her strict mannerisms started to relax. Her praise held a note more warmth and affection than it had before. Her admonishments were less terrifying. The day she laughed at someone's backfired kidō shot shocked the entire courtyard into silence. Kyōraku-taichō overcame his surprise first and swept her into a hug.

"See, Nanao-chan _can_ be fun!"

She moved to hit him with something but then realized that she had left both book and fan in the office. _That_ she noticed. That was an aberration. That was not consistent with her actions. That confused her. For the moment though she fixed a steely gaze on her captain, crossed her arms and demanded he put her down.

"Don't worry everyone, she's back to normal," he announced while setting her back on her feet.

The episode surprised her, though. When had she let her guard down so much? She supposed it really had to do with Kyōraku-taichō's increased involvement with the division. She'd always trusted him to come through for her or anyone else in time of need, but the day-to-day responsibilities had always seemed to fall squarely on her shoulders. But then, those were things she would never rely on him to carry out. Frustrating and overwhelming as the continual paperwork always was, it was something she knew she could do well that he never seemed to have any particular interest in. It wasn't much, but it was hers. It made her feel indispensable. The same thing could be said for this training series. It was something he had seemed to show no particular interest in after the orders came down, so she had stepped up and organized everything herself. Yes, it had been intense, but there were no complaints and given everyone's common goal of providing the best support and backup for their taichō that they could, it had worked well.

Now, all of a sudden, he had shown interest. No, he had not changed many things, but what he had altered made drastic improvements amongst the eighth. It was the best for them, of course, but suddenly she felt insecure in her position. If her captain was suddenly showing some resolve and initiative, then where did she belong? Had she finally let him down to the point where he felt he had to finally become involved before she ruined the entire division? She supposed she shouldn't be complaining if he was finally taking over some of the responsibilities she had always felt he should be doing. The division was thriving and she had actually begun to relax. This was not something to be upset about, and yet she was. She felt incredibly selfish and confused, but she had to honestly admit that these were the emotions going through her.

Kyōraku found her after dinner sequestered away in the office, precisely where he knew she'd be.

"Ah, there you are," he said with a slight slur. He settled himself on the couch he'd insisted on having put in the office and smiled up at her. "Good day, ne?"

"Yes, Taichō. Everyone worked extremely hard today."

"And we all got to hear the dulcet tones of Nanao-chan's lovely laugh."

She blushed slightly. "Yes, Taichō."

"I'd been wondering for a while why you never laughed. I thought maybe it was hideous, like a witch's cackle and you didn't want anyone to know. But no, it's quite pretty. Why don't you laugh more often, Nanao-chan?"

"Maybe I just don't find enough things funny, Taichō."

He sat upright and looked over at her with a stunned expression on his face. "You

mean you don't find _me _the least bit amusing?"

"Amusing isn't necessarily funny."

"Maybe not, but I never have any problem getting anyone else to laugh at my jokes," he pouted.

"Didn't Kurotsuchi-taichō request you stop trying to entertain him? Something about it invoking nausea?"

"Yeah, but he's messed his body up so much a good laugh would probably result in a toxic chemical reaction. I almost wonder if that would be a bad thing."

She glanced at him briefly then returned to her work.

"Ne, Nanao-chan? Don't go back into your shell, please?" he asked softly.

"This isn't a shell, Taichō. This is my personality."

"Do you actually believe that or do you just keep telling people that?"

"Both."

"Are you so insecure that you can't let yourself relax even for a moment around anyone else?"

She fought to keep herself from reacting to his words. It was exactly what he wanted. Nonetheless, what he said hurt.

"I am relaxed, Taichō."

"Yes, those clipped tones really evoke a sense of leisure."  
"Not everyone chooses to express their relaxation through drunkenness, Taichō."

"Yeah, about that, don't think I don't notice when you bring out the fake stuff each night."

"You hadn't said anything so far, so I thought maybe it wasn't a problem."

"I figure if it keeps you happy it's not worth making a fuss over. I just want you to make sure you are aware and completely appreciative of the sacrifice I'm making on your behalf."

That he was making concessions for her to the same degree she was for him was something she hadn't considered.

"Thank you, Taichō."

"No telling the team, though. Sure, it might not be the best to have a hung over division, but they don't need to know we're holding out on them." He winked at her and she couldn't suppress a grin. It felt good to have this secret between the two of them.

Her doubts and feelings of inadequacy melted away under his smile. That was Kyōraku Shunsui's magnetism. It was so easy to underestimate him and assume he was nothing more than he appeared to be at first glance – a lazy, perpetually drunk womanizer. But there was kindness and compassion under that façade. It was that underlying persona that both melted through Nanao's harsh exterior and forced her to be on her guard. As much as people chuckled at how different the eighth's captain and vice-captain were the truth is that they were actually very similar. They both hid behind false selves and they both shared a deep love of literature, albeit different genres. It was those points of commonality that helped create a tight bond between the two of them. It always took Nanao by surprise how well they got along when each allowed the outer exteriors to drop for a moment. However, the instant she started to feel completely comfortable and relaxed around him she panicked and the wall was up again. She didn't know why she reacted that way, but this was the way it had always been.

She jerked her head away from his gaze and shakily stacked the papers she had been working on. "It's late," she commented tersely.

"Not really," was his offhand response.

"I'm tired from the day's activities."

"Then sit with me for a while," he patted the couch beside him as he swung his legs around in a sitting position.

"I think I'd rather go to bed."

"You won't be able to sleep for a while. The squad's still carousing."

"Then I'll read."

"May as well read here as anywhere."

"But the book I want is in my room." Nanao was starting to feel desperate. Something had changed in the air between them, and it wasn't something she knew how to deal with. He had obviously noticed the difference as well, but was not about to let her have her easy excuse to avoid him.

"Which book is it?" he asked coolly.

"What?"

"Which book do you have in mind?"

Even with a room full of stacked books, her mind completely blanked.

"I don't know, but all my reading books are in my room." She turned and hurried towards the door. She reached out to slide it open when she heard his voice behind her.

"Don't you ever get tired of running from me, Nanao-chan?"

Her hand froze where it was. There was no point in pretending she didn't know what he was talking about, but she had no idea how to respond. He stood and walked towards her, but she didn't move. He reached out and slid the door open.

"Take a walk with me," he said and left. She followed and slid the door shut behind them.

The cool night air refreshed her a bit. She was a little wary, but as Kyōraku-taichō didn't seem inclined to speak she started to relax a little as they walked through the streets of Seireitei.

"Ninth seat Kumagai's kidō skills are deplorable," he finally said.

"Hrm?"

"Today's training. He could barely hit the target. He's so skilled with his zanpakutō I never really noticed that disarmed he's essentially defenseless. He's set to practice offensive techniques tomorrow, but I'd like him to repeat today's kidō tutorial. A seated officer should not have such an exposed weak spot."

"Yes, Taichō." Nanao was a bit dazed. He had taken a much keener interest in the trainings than she'd realized. Her doubts from before came creeping back. She fought to quell them. This was exactly as it should be. She should be thrilled that he was acting like the captain she'd always hoped he would be. Why this uneasiness?

"Are there any other observations from today?" she asked.

"Hrm. Nothing significant. They're doing pretty well, actually. I was thinking that we should postpone next week's sessions and engage in some scrimmages with the other divisions. That'll give us the chance to gauge each person's capabilities and see what they need to improve on. What do you think?"

"It's a very good idea, Taichō." And it was. That was the worst part of it all. They continued walking in silence for another few minutes.

"What's the matter, Nanao-chan?" he finally asked.

"Nothing at all is the matter, Taichō. Your observations are quite accurate. Your involvement with the daily trainings has improved performance and morale. Everything is as it should be."

"Everything except my Nanao-chan is more morose than ever. Do you have any idea how impossible a woman you are to please?" he teased with a soft smile.

"Me?"

"Well, you're always interrupting my lovely naps and my communing with nature to sign silly documents and mutter something about time better spent with my officers and such."

"I would not need to interrupt your 'communing with nature' if your 'communing with nature' did not interfere with office hours," she said tersely, crossing her arms. They were on familiar ground now. This she could handle.

"And then I do everything you could possibly want. I'm the perfect taichō. Admit it, I've been ideal. And you're _still_ not satisfied. Oh, you finally started loosening up a bit this afternoon. I started feeling that maybe all this effort and hard work was worth it, but no, you button up like a clam straight away. You, my lovely Nanao-chan, are someone who _likes_ to be unhappy!"

This was _not_ familiar territory. Nanao was positively stunned. Her captain's nonchalant, teasing attitude was as it usually was, but for once his words weren't mocking – they were the truth.

"You did that for me?"

"I thought maybe after our little heart-to-heart by the pond you felt you needed more support. I thought 'really, how hard can it be?' Well, it's hard! I'm a man who likes his alone time, Nanao-chan. Keeping up with your schedule is extremely demanding. I'm surrounded by people all day! And frankly, if you're just going to be your typical iceberg self, I may as well go back to sleeping and drinking the day away. It's far more pleasant." He slumped down against a wall and proceeded to pout. She inwardly smiled. Pouting was something else she knew how to react to.

"Yes, but you'd let your division down bitterly if you abandon them now. I'm afraid you started something you can't easily back out of, Taichō."

He glared up at her. "Whoever goes around saying that you're the unfortunate one in our working relationship doesn't know you at all."

"Oh really?" she replied with a grin.

"Yes, you're far more manipulative than anyone ever realizes. You go around chasing me with giant stacks of papers so that everyone can see that once again you're doing all the work and I've left you to go sleep in some field."

"That usually is the truth of the matter, Taichō."

"Yes, but you know my hanko is in my desk drawer. You don't need my presence there to stamp every single one of those forms. No, you want everyone to see how much your taichō makes you suffer."

"It wouldn't be right for me to use your name stamp."

"Every other division does it," he sulked.  
"I also think it is a very good idea for you to be aware of the goings-on of Soul Society."

"You always let me know the important things anyway."

"But I like to pretend that all my hard hours of work make some sort of a difference and that at least one pair of eyes will look them over." She smiled down at him.

"And therein lies the cruelest manipulation of all," he said softly. "All you have to do is look at me with those lovely violet eyes, scream my name, threaten me and I come running. It's incredibly unfair, Nanao-chan. I'm supposed to be the one in charge here and yet you order me about and I obligingly follow. And all without any word of gratitude or thanks from you. Not even so much as one tiny kiss." He looked up at her hopefully.

"Not even so much as that. You're right, Taichō. You have a pretty terrible situation," she sympathized.

"Yep. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Help me up."

She grasped his hand and helped pull him to his feet. He slung his arm around her shoulders as they headed back to the barracks.

"Let's always be like this, Nanao-chan. We're meant to be pals. Mock me and put me in my place all you want, just don't be nervous around me. Okay?"

She nodded while daintily pulling his arm away from her shoulders. "Yes, Taichō. Now, about calling me 'Nanao-chan…'"

He laughed and the two headed happily back home. Pals. She could handle pals.


	4. Chapter 4

**I was thinking of leaving this at the three chapters or just waiting until the manga picked up to see what would happen. However, I really appreciate the positive reviews and, finding sudden inspiration for a different vignette, I thought I'd try continuing for a while. Thanks for the reviews; this is something very new for me. Let me know if you have any advice or suggestions. Thanks!**

Chapter 4: Family Day

It was Obon in the real world and Seireitei was deserted. Once a year in Japan there was a mass exodus from the cities to the countryside. Multiple generations gathered together to welcome home the spirits of deceased ancestors. The sweltering heat of late summer combined with the sun's fiery red glow invoked a supernatural feeling that was perfect for the gathering of the dead. Occasionally spirits from Rukongai journeyed home, but primarily the spirits gathering were recently departed who had so far managed to avoid being sent to Soul Society. It was, figuratively speaking, harvest time for the shinigami. More than that, though, those shinigami who had not been born in Soul Society and still had connections with the real world took advantage of the season to visit beloved ones who were not yet ready to leave the land of the living.

Nanao and her captain were in their office, making use of the quietness of the day – the one to work and the other to nap. However, Kyōraku-taichō had to make due without the use of his lovely new couch. Nanao had removed and hidden it again. He'd find it and bring it back; he always did, no matter the state it had gotten into in the meanwhile. In fact, the more disgusting it got, the more she crinkled her nose when it reappeared. That was part of the fun. For now, though, it was the floor for him.

"Nanao-chan? What's in the schedule for tomorrow?" he asked innocently.

She paused for a moment then cautiously looked at him.

"The schedule?"

"Yeah, the official one. Do we have anything noteworthy coming up?"

"You want me to look at the schedule?"

"That would be very helpful."

She sighed and reached over for the journal she kept on the far corner of the desk. It was a thin book, no thicker than a thumb's width. However, it was monstrously heavy as a result of all the binding charms and mechanical locks she had placed on it. She tried not to rely on the 'official schedule' if at all possible. If Kyōraku-taichō was asking about it that could only mean trouble. And it was no one's fault but her own.

One day several years before Kyōraku-taichō had begun whining when she mentioned they had an early watch the following morning. "But Taichō, it's in the schedule!" He'd kept saying that he didn't care and that he didn't want to. "Yes, but Taichō, it's _in the schedule_!" It was a weak argument, and she was shocked when he appeared to comply. However, from that day onward, she had paid for that remark. Apparently once something was in the schedule it was infallible and unbreakable. And no matter how many things she tried to do to keep him away, if Kyōraku-taichō decided he wanted to play with the schedule then he would. Unfortunately his was the type of intelligence that was always at the ready, no matter what abuse he put his brain and body through with his liberal nightly libations. It took her nearly ten minutes to open the journal this time. He had probably flipped it open in less than half a minute.

"Well, anything in particular?"

"It's our turn to host the fifth division in our trainings."

"And?"

"And apparently Nanao-chan is going to declare her undying devotion to her Shun-kun," Nanao said in a deadpan voice, using every fiber of self-control not to blush or throw the book at him.

"_Really_? Well we must make sure we're around for that."

"It's not going to happen."

"But it's in the schedule."

"Quite the mystery how _that_ happened."

"Yes, but Nanao-chan, it's _in the schedule_!"

"Do you know what else is in the schedule?"

"She going to lay a big kiss on him afterwards?" he asked hopefully.

"There is a party today at the Kyōraku residence."

He groaned and ran a hand over his face. "I knew there was a reason I should have waited for tomorrow to ask you what was in the schedule."

"It's already started, you should go."

"I don't want to," he pouted.

"Yes, but it's in the schedule," she smiled.

"Well why should _I_ have to do what the schedule says if you don't?"

"That's not until tomorrow. As of now I haven't defied anything that pertains to me."

"But you're going to."

"Well, if you insist…"

He sat bolt upright and looked over at her. She smiled placidly.

"Enjoy your time with your family, Taichō."

Apparently 'Shun-kun' was not easily defeated, though. He approached the desk, turned the schedule around and scrawled beneath the day's entry. Nanao's eyebrows rose as she read what he wrote.

"You want me to come with you?"

"Unless you have other family you'd rather see?" For those shinigami not sent to the real world, the first day of Obon acted as a sort of 'Family Day;' many returned to their parents or the people who had adopted them when they first arrived in Rukongai.

"No, Taichō. I have no family here."

"No kindly grandma or gramps you lived with before entering the academy?"

"My father and I died at the same time in the real world and arrived here together. We lived in the fourth district of Rukongai by ourselves. However, he was reborn in the real world soon after I entered the academy."

"Huh, I didn't know that. Well, think about it this way," he said slowly, folding his arms on the desk and leaning over until his face was right in front of Nanao's, "of all the people in Seireitei, is there anyone who feels more like family to you than me?"

She blinked in surprise. It was something she had never considered before, but he was completely correct. She didn't reply, but he knew the answer anyway. Kyōraku grinned and pushed himself up.

"Let's go. You can meet all the people who unfortunately had a hand in shaping me into the man I am today."

"Taichō, I don't think it's a good idea for me to go to _your_ family event!"

"You're family enough for me, Nanao-chan. Let's go."

On the way, he pressed her for more details about her family from the real world. How had she and her father come to die at the same time? How old had she been? What had happened?

"We were in a train accident on the way back from a competition. I was fourteen."

This was not nearly enough information for him. What sort of competition?

She paused before answering this one. "Piano," she finally admitted.

"You play piano?"

"I did."

"Were you good?"

"Yes, I was."

"Really really good?"

"I was… I was maybe on the way to becoming really good."

Kyōraku chuckled at this new piece of information. He knew Nanao-chan held hidden depths, but hidden talents as well?

"I'll be your father was plenty proud."

"In a way."

"In a way?" he raised an eyebrow and looked sideways at her.

"Yes. In a way I suppose he was."

"And… I'm just supposed to say 'oh, all right' and let it drop? You can't leave me with just that. Why only 'in a way?'"

"My father and I were a little too much alike to ever be close. We had the same work ethic, the same drive for perfection. We both wanted prestige and were disgusted by those who simply inherited it and hadn't earned it on their own. The only thing I inherited from my mother was her musical ability. I had a small gift and the drive to become better. Since I was so much like him, my father knew exactly how to push me and then I would keep going. I don't know if he was proud of my accomplishments so much as he was satisfied that I was not letting him down or lowering the standards we both had for me."

"Yare, yare, that's deep Nanao-chan."

"It wasn't terrible. But after we arrived in Rukongai, without my mother and brother around, we just didn't have anything to say to each other. Our visits after I entered the academy were the worst. There was no point in his asking if I was keeping on top of my studies. Nothing else would suffice. So, we would sit there looking at each other until it was time for me to return to school."

"How did he die?"

"I'm not certain. He refused to ever go to the doctor. My guess is cirrhosis complications."

Kyōraku's eyebrows shot up as he looked at her.

"I was always pleased to see how well you tolerated my little, well, habit, but now I'm amazed."

"I keep careful watch. You are a heavy drinker, but you don't remind me of him. Not yet at least. Don't be surprised if you suddenly start finding more of the 'fake stuff' in place of your usual stash, though."

He laughed. "That's my Nanao-chan. Always watching out for me."

"I do know about all your stashes, of course."

"Well, maybe, but-"

"No, no, I do."

"Huh," he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. This was definitely a new piece of information.

They finally arrived at the Kyōraku manse and Nanao started to wish she hadn't come. It consisted of the main house and multiple residences surrounding it. She had never wandered into the wealthier side of Seireitei. She'd never found the need to and she certainly had never thought that she would be considered welcome. Enough of her father's loathing of those who lived off of what they had been born into had manifested in her to make the prospect of entering this area very uncomfortable. She'd always known Kyōraku-taichō was from a noble family, but until now that had merely been a fact in a file. Faced with her captain's childhood home was a very different sort of reality.

For his part, Kyōraku seemed to sense her hesitancy, or it may have simply been his own.

"Let's just skip the party and go for a drink, eh Nanao-chan?" he asked with a wink. She was almost ready to agree when they were spotted just before the gate. Three lower ranking members of clans serving the Kyōraku family rushed forward and kneeled before him.

"Kyōraku-dono!" they cried in unison. This was a very different greeting than Nanao had ever seen anyone greet her captain with and her eyes were wide in shock. He gruffly grabbed her elbow and guided her towards the house.

"I knew this was a bad idea," he grumbled.

They removed their straw sandals at the porch and stepped into a large tatami-covered room. Hearing voices in the distance, he guided her away from them through multiple rooms whose paper screen doors had all been pushed open to make for one large corridor. At the end of the hall, they exited onto another porch and slid into wooden shoes waiting by the steps. Kyōraku led her forward into the largest, most lush garden Nanao had ever seen. Their sandals crunched on the carefully manicured gravel path. Nanao had to struggle to keep up with her captain. For once it was she who was captivated by nature's beauty and he was the one who seemed oblivious to it all. After walking over a small bridge covering a koi filled pond, they arrived at a small gazebo hidden in the foliage of maple trees and bamboo. All Nanao could see was a stately woman's back. She was wearing a dark purple kimono and wide beige obi artistically painted with the occasional spray of flowers and leaves. Nanao herself felt the obligation to kneel in such an impressive person's presence, particularly as the woman slowly turned around to scrutinize the latecomers.

Kyōraku, for his part, did not seem duly daunted. Instead he leaned forward to pick the woman up and plant a kiss on her cheek. Nanao's eyes nearly fell out in her shock. Even the woman did not seem to know how to react to this sort of highly improper greeting.

"Kā-chan!" he cried merrily. This was his mother?

"I am pleased to see you have decided to join us, Shunsui-kun. Now, please put me down." Her voice was less steely than Nanao's was when she similarly found herself in such a position, but there was far more authority and command than Nanao could ever hope to muster. This was someone who would brook no disobeying. He complied and grinned as if he hadn't noticed her well-hidden horror. He then turned to greet the man standing next to her.

"Nī-chan!"

Ah, the leader of the clan, Kyōraku Yoshitsune. This was someone Nanao had been curious to see. What would her taichō's older brother look like? As it turned out, a great deal like her taichō. They were of similar builds, but the elder brother was a little smaller of frame. His hair was also far darker and drawn into a traditional samurai style with the top shaved and the remaining hair tied and arranged in a topknot. Apparently not sharing the same need to continuously 'commune with nature' as his young sibling, he was also much fairer. However, their faces were very similar. The eyes had a slightly different tilt and his mouth was a little smaller. Their jawlines and pronounced noses were identical, though. Moreover, their temperaments appeared closely aligned as well. She had expected someone cold and severe, perhaps more like Kuchiki-taichō. The head of the Kyōraku family appeared to be a rather pleasant as well as sensible and intelligent man. He noticed her presence immediately and asked his brother to introduce them.

Kyōraku-taichō stepped back beside her. "This is my adjutant, the fukutaichō of the eighth division and my all-time shadow, Ise Nanao. Nanao-chan, that is my lovely Kā-chan and my big Nī-chan. I'm sure they would love for you to call them by those titles as well, wouldn't you?"

His mother, for one, did not seem to be entertaining the idea. "Ise? Is that one of the lower clans?"

Nanao held her head proudly. "No, Kyōraku-sama. My family is not from Seireitei."

"Then… _Rukongai_?"

"Yes. I lived in the fourth district of Rukongai before joining the shinigami corps."

"Well, fourth… I suppose it could be far worse. That previous girl, Shunsui, where was she from?"

"I believe Lisa-chan was born and raised in the thirty-ninth district."

Nanao felt her stomach jolt as she looked at her captain's face. Mention of his previous vice-captain did not often come up. His face was completely relaxed, though, as if there was nothing amiss.

"Hrm, yes, fourth is better than that. But still, to be _born_ here at least…"

"I don't see why Nanao's past should concern you at all, Kā-chan. She serves me extremely well and is among the most prominent and highly-qualified officers in the Gotei 13. Besides, isn't she adorable?" he gushed teasingly.

This was hardly endearing Nanao to her captain's mother or vice-versa. His brother at least seemed to be enjoying the proceedings.

"Hrm," was the matriarch's only reply with a thin-lipped smile.

"Shunsui," the elder Kyōraku brother said, stepping forward to break the tension, "The rest of the family is down in the eastern wing. Let's play for them. It's been a while."

"In a minute, I want Nanao-chan to meet Baba first. Where is the old girl?"

"Baba's not here," Yoshitsune responded. "She went back to Rukongai about three years ago."

"What?"

"It was her own choice," their mother inserted. "She was welcome to stay here for as long as she liked. I dare she she's practically part of our family now. But, with neither of you boys showing any interest in getting married or providing heirs as is your duty not only to your family but to all those aligned with ours, she said she has no purpose here and wanted to return to Rukongai. I could hardly stop her, Shunsui-kun."

Nanao took a hesitant step back. Her captain rarely got into such black moods, but when it did, it was in everyone's best interests to avoid him. Yoshitsune stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's the truth, Shun. I'd never let anyone turn her away. She wanted to go. Maybe she'll come back later."

The tension lowered and Shunsui unhappily nodded his head in understanding.

"You would have known long ago if you'd only come back home once in a while," his mother said huffily.

The dark clouds suddenly returned and only the older brother yanking him away to see the rest of the family saved them all from the captain's outburst. Yoshitsune called up for the women to follow, but Nanao found herself trapped with a rather curious and fairly daunting older woman.

"So, you work for my son, then?"

"Yes, I do," Nanao replied evenly.

"Is it tiresome?"

"Not overly. He keeps me on my toes, but I more than return the favor."

"Perhaps you should take into consideration more not only his position as your captain but also within Soul Society. Shunsui is due perhaps a little more deference and respect than your other Gotei captains, don't you think?"

"When he earns it, most definitely."

"My son is not simply a captain, Ise-fukutaichō."

"I agree, Kyōraku-sama."

"Please keep in mind just who he is," she bit out carefully.

"I know exactly who Kyōraku-taichō is."

"Hrm." The thin-lipped smile was back. "Shall we join them? It has been such a long time since my boys played together. This should be quite the treat."

Nanao did not know just how "the boys" were going to be playing together nor who the mysterious Baba was whose absence had so upset her captain, but she was more than happy to leave the gardens and Kyōraku-taichō's mother's disapproving presence. Thus far, she was still regretting agreeing to come.

Upon reentering the home she followed Kyōraku's mother back through the hallway, past the center part of the house wherein she and the captain had originally entered, and then into another corridor. As they walked around towards another, semi-separated part of the house Nanao could hear voices and a strange sort of twanging. She felt her stomach clench as she entered the room and saw the Kyōraku brothers tuning a pair of shamisen.

She did know her taichō knew how to play shamisen; on more than one occasion she'd found him lying on his back pretending to pluck out the tune he was humming. It was something akin to a habit Matsumoto had told her teenagers in the real world occasionally partook in: air guitar. However, real shamisen were far more annoying than those of the air variety. The body of the instrument was rectangular with the sides bowed out a little. Three strings stretch up a long wooden neck and ended in large tuning pegs. This particular variety was covered in cat skin; she'd been told once that it gave a "softer sound," but to Nanao it was still seemed loud, nasal and annoying.

The brothers briefly discussed what to play, then settled into their opening position. With a loud guttural cry from Kyōraku-taichō to start the two began strumming. At first it was slow but then progressively they picked up the speed as they stayed in perfect unison. Nanao was astounded. She was with her captain nearly all day every day. He couldn't have possibly had time to practice. And yet, both brothers seemed to remember everything about the song and their playing style no matter how long ago it was since they last played together. It was amazing to watch the two of them together. Suddenly all their differences vanished and all Nanao could focus on was how similar they were. They leaned into their shamisen at the same points, lifted and nodded their heads together and even when one paused to let the other solo, they joined back seamlessly. This was a very different sort of shamisen playing than Nanao had ever seen before. When they finished Yoshitsune left, but her taichō stayed and started playing a softer, slower lullaby as he sang along.

It was beautiful music, all the more so because it was impromptu. Perhaps it was because she had only recently discussed it with her captain, but Nanao's mind kept going back to what she could remember of her old life and the piano. She had been very good. However, in what way? She knew how to read music well. She had practiced scales every day. Her playing was extremely precise. But there was something very different between her method of playing music and Taichō's. Watching the emotion and contentment on his face as he played and sang almost irritated her. It wasn't perfect. The shamisen could stand to be tuned a little better for this particular song. Also, he had messed up a few notes. This was far from being ready to perform. And yet, it was beautiful. He put more soul into this simple song than Nanao ever did with her scales and concertos. As she watched him she remembered hearing him hum this particular tune many times before. It was always in him. The shamisen was simply another way of expressing the song. Maybe that was the difference between them: Nanao played music, her captain played songs.

As the lullaby ended she turned and started to back away. He noticed and caught her meaning. After handing the shamisen back to his brother, Kyōraku-taichō waved to the room and bid them all goodbye. It probably would have been more polite to introduce Nanao to the rest of his extended family before they left, but both were in a hurry to be back in the familiar setting of their office.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is proving to be detrimental to my thesis, but fun, so I will keep it up until my work drive improves. Thank you to reviewers; I am very interested in hearing people's responses to choices I made in regards to the main characters in particular. This _is_ going in a particular direction, I'm just not sure where it'll end just yet. **

Chapter 5: Expectations

The next day there was a surprise for Nanao in the office. The ratty couch was not back, at least not yet. Instead, in place of where the offensive piece of furniture used to be, a sleek upright piano stood. She simply stood and blinked in shock when she saw it. Numerous thoughts ran through her mind. She had not known there were any pianos in all of Soul Society, let alone in close proximity where in the course of a night her taichō could sneak it into the office. Not to mention, how had he accomplished that? They had both been there fairly late then night before, and he'd been tipsy enough that she was sure he had gone straight to bed. So, that would only mean… no, impossible…

"Well, are you going to say something, Nanao-chan?"

She looked over to where he was sprawled with his legs crossed and resting on his desk. He was grinning from ear to ear. He had no idea how she would respond, but he knew that she _would_ respond.

"Did you… did you actually get up _early_ to put this here?"

"It's been known to happen before. But I'm disappointed. _That_'s what you notice? That's what you respond to?"

She ran a hand over the sleek painted wood. "It's almost worth professing my undying devotion over," she admitted.

"Well, whenever you're ready, I'll be here."

"Where did you find it? How did you get it here so soon?"

"I had it lying around my house."

Her eyes grew wide as she turned to look at him. "You what?"

"I don't think you've ever been to my house before, have you? I'm barely there myself. But I've got about a dozen or so different instruments strewn about."

"But… a _piano_?"

"One of my first assignments was in Western Europe. It was some of the first signs of the Bounto we'd had for a while and they needed someone on the ground living and working there. I apprenticed with a piano tuner. I liked the sound of the instrument so I thought I'd bring it back. What a pain to push it through the gate, though! Almost as difficult as it was trying to get it up the stairs."

"I… I'm not sure what to say."

"Hrm, well let me think of some suggestions. There is, of course the standard 'thank you.' If that doesn't quite suffice, tears of joy, proclamations of love, running around the barracks screaming 'Kyōraku-taichō is the best, handsomest, nicest and most dashingly dressed captain in all of Seireitei' are all perfectly acceptable."

She rewarded his high-pitched antics with a laugh. "If I ever acted like that I'd kill myself."

"No, you wouldn't. I wouldn't let you. I might check you into the fourth for a few days of carefully observed rest and relaxation, though. Maybe I'd join you myself!"

"Wouldn't that be counterproductive to rest and relaxation?"

"So harsh, Nanao-chan! And after this lovely gesture on my part!" he objected.

She walked towards him and hesitantly leaned over to kiss the top of his head.

"Thank you, Taichō," she said softly.

"You're more than welcome," he smiled in response. "Will you play me something?"

"Maybe not right now."

"Whenever you're ready. Meanwhile I'm going to go take a nap." He stood, stretched and reached back to pull his hat on.

"No, you're going to go outside and greet the fifth. They should be arriving soon."

"Nanao-chaaan," he whined with a groan. "Can't you take care of that?"

"I'll be down in time for when training commences. Don't you think that after all the fifth has been through they should see a trustworthy, responsible captain take interest in their progress and development?"

He sighed. "You _are_ a manipulative little thing. I get no respect around here."

"Your mother did insinuate I was not treating you with the proper level of veneration due to a captain from the noble family of Kyōraku. Should I prostrate before you every morning and call you Kyōraku-dono?"

She saw his spine stiffen and he turned to look at her with cold, harsh eyes.

"Do not ever call me that again."

The irony was not lost on Nanao that despite how many times he'd ignored her requests not to refer to her as "Nanao-chan," it was rather hypocritical to make this demand. But there was something in his attitude that she decided it was not a good idea to pick a fight.

"I understand, Taichō."

"I'm sorry, Nanao. But, well, we'll just say there are a few reasons I don't go home very often."

"There's no need to apologize. I was out of line. The fifth and the eighth should be assembled by now. Should we go down?"

He nodded and waited for her to grab a large tome before exiting the office.

The courtyard was more crowded than usual with the eighth assembled in neat lines at the right and the fifth following suit to the left. Ever since Aizen's departure, no one was entirely sure what to do with the fifth division. The third had recently replaced their traitorous captain and the ninth's vice-captain was admirably leading his division with some help from the seventh division's captain. For the fifth, though, no one was certain what to do with them. Their vice-captain had suffered something akin to a nervous breakdown following the death, resurrection and betrayal of her idolized Aizen-taichō. That was in addition to the nearly fatal blow he dealt her. If, after all she had gone through, she was still convinced of her hero's innocence, the remaining twelve squads were understandably nervous about the state of the rest of the fifth squad's members. For all any of them knew, Aizen's mind control had gone much further than simple hypnosis. Even the squad members themselves did not know if, in the midst of battle, they might not be co-opted to turn on their fellow shinigami. It was a terrible risk, and as a result no one actually expected the fifth to be sent into battle. But then leaving them behind to guard Seireitei was hardly safer. The final word as to what to do with the fifth was not yet clear. For now, though, the tenth division handled the majority of their paperwork, the fifth's fragile vice-captain led them through their day-to-day requirements, and they shifted week by week among the other twelve squads.

Upon seeing Kyōraku and Nanao emerge, everyone stood at attention. Nanao quickly scanned the eighth to make sure everyone was present. Kyōraku spread his arms wide and made a proclamation.

"Good news, everyone! She loved it!" The eighth broke into cheers and the fifth politely, if confusedly, applauded.

"And more than that, she even," he waited for the cheering to die down, "_kissed me_!"

"A _peck_, Taichō!" Nanao inserted above the roars.

"A very _palpable_ peck, Nanao-chan!"

"On the forehead!"

"And of your own volition!"

She sighed and shook her head. There was no way she would be winning this. Both squads were already conferring how this new turn of affairs would affect the betting pools. The fourth division's third seat had been grudgingly forced into keeping track of the long-running gamble. Nanao herself would have been best but, well, that would defeat the purpose and unfairly skew the results. It was rumored the fourth division's third had a significant crush on Nanao and this was the reason for what appeared to be attempts to copy her orderliness, organization, and even eyeglass adjustment technique. Still, he was a reasonable bookie, even if it was a little cruel.

The fifth division's vice-captain ran up to them and bowed.

"Good morning Kyōraku-taichō, Ise-kun."

"Good morning, Hinamori-kun."

"Ah, Momo-chan! Did you hear? Nanao-chan kissed me. Right there," he pointed to the top of his head.

"Mm, that's nice," she said with a smile then turned to Nanao.

"Did you receive the personnel files?"

"Yes, it looks like your division has received plenty of practice in one-on-one fighting with the other squads, but I don't see very much overview of basic skills. I have combined the squads and divided them into groups of five. I thought a competition style series of tournaments emphasizing different disciplines would be a good way to emphasize inter-divisional cooperation and teamwork as well as give us the opportunity to evaluate who needs to work on what."

"And maybe we can finish up with a trip to the real world," Kyōraku suggested. This was not something they'd previously discussed, but Nanao simply nodded her head to indicate she'd think about it. Things between captain and adjutant had largely returned to normal. Nanao was once again in charge of, well, pretty much everything. However, Kyōraku was still making an obvious effort to be more involved with the trainings. Nanao suspected this was so she would begin to relax and be less diligent, thereby leaving him ample opportunity to sneak away to his afternoon siestas. She was determined not to let that happen. But she did at least stop picking on him to be more involved with the squad. She had learned her lesson.

Hinamori looked back and forth between the leaders of the eighth division. She missed that easy communication. Of course, she had always been far more deferential of Aizen-taichō than Ise-kun was with Kyōraku-taichō, but nonetheless, to follow one's captain and try to anticipate his needs and how to best support him… she missed it bitterly. She bit back tears and simply bowed her head.

"Thank you for your hard work," she said brightly. "We will try not to be a bother."

Kyōraku chuckled and placed a hand fondly on her head. "Not at all Momo-chan. This'll be fun!"

It was fun. The eighth was initially hesitant to work with the fifth, but after their vice-captain threateningly started to lower her glasses, they understood there was no room for opposition here. The fifth would remain in this precarious, uncertain position among the other divisions for a while yet, but for while they were training with the eighth, Kyōraku-taichō insisted on complete fairness and integration between the squads. The meant that Nanao, too, had to learn how to share a portion of the control she was so used to having with the fifth's vice-captain. This was a very uncomfortable position for Nanao; aside from the rare occasions her captain chose to exercise his position, within the eighth's precincts no one's authority was above her own. "Sharing" with Hinamori-kun apparently also meant her captain's attention.

"Would you like something to drink, Momo-chan?" Kyōraku asked one night after training. The three had gone back to the eighth's office. The rest of the squads were downstairs socializing together. Within days the uneasy tensions had melted away, in part due to the fact that there were so many preexisting friendships between the members from their days in the academy.

"N, no thank you, Kyōraku-taichō," she responded politely.

"Not even tea? I'm sure Nanao-chan was going to go make some anyway, weren't you Nanao-chan?"

"If you like."

"No, really, I don't want to be a bother. I am fine, thank you."

Nanao simply nodded stiffly and went to sit behind her desk. Hinamori-kun sat on the floor before them. Nanao had offered her the piano bench, but she insisted the floor was more comfortable. What was not comfortable was the silence among the three of them. Hinamori-kun was too timid and afraid of being troublesome that she never said or did anything particularly interesting. She was always in agreement with whatever was said. Her feedback to the squads was always positive. Her conversations with Nanao were always very complimentary. Her attitude with Kyōraku was fully respectful and admiring. It annoyed Nanao to no end. She had not known Hinamori-kun well before the Aizen "incident," as they were calling it in her presence; she had rarely come to the Women's Association meetings or events. Still, while the girl was always relatively sweet and pleasing, there had been more gumption and backbone to her then. At the very least, she had been interesting. Now, Nanao could hardly wait for the joint training to end so things could go back to normal. Kyōraku, for his part, showed no indication that he was aware of any tensions in the room at all. He tilted his chair back and started to hum.

"Oh," Hinamori cried, a hand flying to her lips.

"Hrm? Did you say something, Momo-chan?"

"I, no, not at all Kyōraku-taichō. Forgive the interruption."

"Everyone's so quiet an interruption would be welcome. What are you thinking about?"

"I, well, it's just… that song. It just reminded me of… something."

"Something to do with Aizen-taichō?" Nanao asked crisply. It was safe to assume her attentions were still continually focused on him, but likely as a result of realizing her opinion of the departed captain was in the vast minority, Hinamori rarely spoke of him anymore. She nodded her head.

"Really? Did Sōsuke-kun like music? Did he used to sing that song?"

"No, well, that is, I don't know if he liked music or not. I think he probably did; he seemed to have very refined tastes. I was just remembering one night when one of the officers was singing right in front of the office and Aizen-taichō stopped him to say that it was a lovely song and that it reminded him of the forests in spring. Aizen-taichō was always so kind," she said wistfully, looking down at her clenched hands.

Nanao opened her mouth to speak, but Kyōraku waved her off.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Sōsuke-kun was kind."

Hinamori's face lifted rapturously. Tears streaked down her face.

"You remember that too? No one understands. No one remembers how he really was. He just… he couldn't have done all of those things. Don't you see? I, I know no one believes me. But, I can't stop trusting in him. You can't be that kind and good and honorable for so long and then in one instant become bad or evil. It's just not who he is." Her tears were flowing freely now. At this point she seemed to be arguing more to herself than to Nanao or Kyōraku. Was it a sign of acceptance? Probably not. But at least she was still considering the possibility that she, like everyone else, had been deceived.

"You're right, Momo-chan, in that the Aizen Sōsuke we knew was a very different man from the one he chose to show everyone the day he left. It is hard to reconcile the two people into one body. No one has really come to terms with it yet."

She was crying so deeply it wasn't clear whether she was hearing Kyōraku-taichō's words or not. He sighed, stood and walked towards the door.

"Let's go for a walk, Nanao-chan."

She wordlessly stood and followed him out the door. Once outside she exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"The fifth is in more deplorable condition than I'd thought," she said gloomily.

"They're faring all right for all that's happened to them, not least of all bearing Seireitei's ostracizing. As for little Momo-chan, that's quite a strain she's under."

"She should be discharged or demoted, Taichō."

"And then what would happen to the fifth?"

"Someone else could step forward to get them back in line."

"Momo-chan is doing her best. At least she's a familiar face, and she can at least sympathize with what they've gone through. No one else can quite do that."

"She is a liability. What will happen if she defects in battle?"

"I think we all know it wouldn't get to that point. Faced with the option, she would run away and join Sōsuke long before going against him in battle."

"So why has she retained her position as fukutaichō?"

"Who else could take it? We're remarkably low on captain-level shinigami at the moment, if you hadn't noticed, and none of the present fukutaichō is ready to lead such a shell-shocked squad."

"They need discipline and consistency, not someone who is so emotional and fragile."

"Would you take them on, Nanao-chan?"

"For the good of the Gotei 13, yes, if asked, I probably would."

"You're not ready," he said simply.

"I have not yet achieved bankai, I know that. But even just to return some semblance of order and normalcy and lead them into battle if need be, that I can do."

"You can organize them as much as you please, Nanao-chan, but you are not ready to lead a squadron."

The words stung. Nanao did not know why her captain was speaking to her this way. She was not asking for the transfer. Did he think she was too ambitious for her own good?

"Then what have I been doing for the past century or so?"

"You have been assisting me so that I might better lead the eighth. You have been doing exactly as a vice-captain should. But there is a large gap between assisting and leading, particularly in time of war. You are not ready."

"You have not given me many opportunities to test that theory," she pointed out.

"It's true. I've held you back. There are situations I would not have hesitated to send Lisa in to take care of that I wouldn't dream of letting you near."

A flame of jealousy shot up through Nanao. This was the second time in two days her predecessor's name had come up. To hear that there were things he would trust with his previous vice-captain but not with her was a deep blow.

"Why?" she demanded.

"When you became my new fukutaichō, people marveled at the similarities between you and Lisa-chan. In essence, though, I knew you were not very alike at all. The main difference between you two is experience. Lisa had already seen and done a great deal long before she became a shinigami. She had a ruthlessness to her that was almost scary at times. I was very proud of her in some ways. Emotion would not stand in her way. I could depend upon her to accomplish any problem, no matter the complications."

Nanao felt her insides crumble away. The way he described Yadōmaru Lisa was the ideal Nanao herself had always tried to hold herself to. She hadn't even realized that what she was essentially trying to do was replace, in all ways, the previous vice-captain. She wanted that deep level of stoicism. And yet, her taichō always teased her for being too serious. How could he have criticized those very attributes that he was now praising in her predecessor? It made no sense.

"So, I'm not experienced or ruthless enough?"

"I hope not. I know you think you are, but you're not. Killing someone, if there was absolutely no other option, would not bother Lisa-chan. You would have a much harder time accepting it. You are still ideological enough that I don't think you could accept that there was ever a situation where the only options were 'kill or be killed.'"

"There was the situation with the ryōka, though."

"I remember. You wanted to 'finish off' the young man I'd just defeated. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. After all our time together, had you really become so heartless? But then I realized, you didn't actually see it as killing him. It was merely completing a task. You don't understand the difference between slaying a hollow and killing a person. Hollows become purified. They don't really die. But people don't simply vanish when you strike the final blow. They bleed. They cry out. You look in their eyes and all you see is life. At the moment of death they are more alive than they have ever been before. And then, that spark is extinguished. And you have done it. There is no purification there, only finality. It is not a pleasant experience, Nanao-chan."

"The excuse you gave for stopping me was something about girls not getting their hands dirty."

"Well, they shouldn't! Particularly not when they're as lovely as yours."

She raised her lovely hand and slapped him.

"I don't need your chivalry to keep me from completing my job, Taichō! If I am not ready to fulfill my duties as fukutaichō then this is something I need to remedy or I will be as useless as Hinamori-kun!" Her voice was heavy and trembling with pent up emotion.

"Actually, she has the ruthlessness already. She will kill for what she wants. She is emotional and unsteady, but she can accomplish whatever it is she sets her mind to carry out. She is dangerous, but, if she figures out her loyalties, she could certainly lead a battalion into war."

"That is almost worse than telling me I am inferior of your previous adjutant! You don't trust me."

"I told you before, Nanao-chan. You don't trust yourself beyond your own reasoning. I do trust you. I trust your capability. I trust what you can do if you need to. You are the only one who does not see that yet. But no, I do not want you to turn into another Lisa. She scared me a little. I do not want the person beside me to kill first and rationalize later, if at all. I want you to keep your idealism. I want you to argue with me about the chances of our squadron being defeated in battle. The last thing I ever want to see from you is resignation. But idealism must be tempered with rationalism, and vice versa. That was something Lisa never could understand. She quashed ideals, particularly if they interfered with efficiency. But with just cold rationalism, there is little warmth or understanding. I accepted her for who she was, but she saddened me as well. I don't want that for you, Nanao-chan. This isn't about chivalry. This is about fighting to keep your soul."

"I don't think I understand at all. If it would benefit my duty to-"

"This isn't about duty! This isn't about your job or what Seireitei expects from you! This is about figuring out for yourself what is right and acting on that impulse, no matter where it takes you. Momo is standing alone in her quest to clear Sōsuke's name. She is wrong and misguided, but it is what feels right to her no matter what those around her say. Some might think it is pathetic, but there is something admirable in the deep faith and strong commitment she has!"

Nanao was confused. In some ways, what her captain said did make sense, but it was so opposite everything she had heard and learned from training to be a shinigami that she didn't know how to reconcile two very different ideas that both seemed feasible. For the first time, she started to feel a little sympathy for Hinamori.

"What do you want me to do?" she finally asked.

"I want you to find out for yourself what you want to do."

"I want to serve you and the eighth to the best of my ability."

"And?"

She thought for a moment. Technically, the proper response should be 'And I want to protect the interests of the Gotei 13,' but she knew this was not the answer he was looking for. As she thought of it, it sounded hollow to her, as if memorized from a textbook. Perhaps it had been. What was it she wanted? An idea came to her, but it seemed simplistic and childish. Still, the more she pondered this thought, the more she realized that this was what she truly wanted.

"I want to finish each day with the knowledge that I have nothing to be ashamed of."

Kyōraku grasped her shoulders and pulled her forward to place a kiss on her brow.

"Thatta girl," he said quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Not much conversation here, but I felt it was necessary to have a reflection piece (I know, I like conversation better too). Please let me know what you think!**

Chapter 6: Clarity

Nanao lay on her futon replaying the conversation she had had carried out with her captain. There had been no chance for reflection until now; upon returning to the office they had found Hinamori curled up on the floor where they had left her crying. Kyōraku had gently scooped her up.

"_This_ is why we need a couch!"

Nanao had simply stood back to allow him to pass. Together they went to Hinamori's quarters where Nanao quickly set up a futon for her – an exercise she'd gotten very accustomed to from the many times she'd had to drag her captain home and tuck him in. There was something in his eyes to suggest that tonight was probably another one of those nights, but she was in no mood to play nursemaid. She'd bid him goodnight outside Hinamori's door and gone back home.

Even remembering just that brought a hand to her face. She would give just about anything to take back that night. She did not know what was happening with her relationship with her captain. He kept changing things, only to suddenly return to normal. A moment later, though, it would be clear that no, something indeed had changed and 'normal' did not exist anymore. She had no idea what each day was to bring, let alone each moment. In some ways, this was exactly the same as things had always been. He had always been a bit unpredictable. And yet, he had been unpredictable in predictable ways. Now, though, Nanao felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her more times in the last few days than in her whole existence as a shinigami. Tonight alone her taichō had given her about a year's worth of contradictions she was trying to muddle through.

He'd told her that she was not ready to lead. That was not something she was exaggerating or misreading. That had been clear enough. And yet, when he cited the examples of two vice-captains who _were_ capable of leading their squads, he readily acknowledged that one was practically sadistic in her efficiency to carry out orders and the other was an emotional wreck who might any day betray them all. Understandably, he did not want Nanao to follow either of their examples. And yet, how was she to develop as a vice-captain and a leader if he kept treating her like she was delicate, breakable and innocent?

She realized then that this must be how he saw her – raw, unspoiled, naïve. Ah, the word he'd used was 'inexperienced.' It was rather humorous in a way; to the rest of the Gotei 13 no one would dare use any of those adjectives to describe her. The previous fukutaichō was ruthless but Nanao was not? Anyone who heard that would laugh. Even Nanao had trouble believing it. But… no, he was right about that. She was strict, but not ruthless. Not yet at least, and she owed that to him. So why was he actively keeping her so 'inexperienced?' It made no sense. No matter her training or expertise, if she went untested, she was a danger to her entire squad. That was a mortifying and horrifying thought. Everything she defined herself by was in relation to her job and her division. They looked up to and respected her. They trusted her to lead them wherever their captain commanded. They were confident in her ability to guide and take care of them. To them, she was Ise-fukutaichō. To Kyōraku-taichō, she was simply kawaii Nanao-chan.

She pushed back the blankets and rose to draw back the window screen. These thoughts had been swirling in her head for hours and would undoubtedly prevent any sort of sleep. Instead she waited for dawn. She wasn't even in a reading mood with the chaotic state her mind was in right now. She thought back to their previous conversations of the past week or so. She craved some sign of approval from him, and not the protestations of adoration. At first they'd embarrassed her. Now she was used to them. Of course, they still annoyed her, but they were so continual and constant they'd become normal. Although, even those had reduced a bit of late. Maybe it was because he kept catching her off-guard when she had neither fan nor book nearby. She was grateful in a way; apparently the more she abused him, the more encouragement he took away from the exchange. Well at least she'd finally figured that out. But was there anything else? Anything that indicated she wasn't a complete failure as a vice-captain?

One thing came to mind: the situation with Yamamoto-Genryūsai. He'd said he'd never been prouder. She nearly laughed aloud. The one time she'd clearly flown in the face of convention and disregarded the rules; that was the time he was proudest of her? Actually, now that she thought about it, that sort of made sense. To be honest, it made a lot of sense, particularly with regards to other things he had said to her over the years and especially as of the past few days. He wanted a different sort of vice-captain from Yadōmaru Lisa. He wanted someone who didn't blindly follow rules but challenged and fought him, and yet at the same time (or maybe even because of it) trusted him implicitly. And she did. Considering she wasn't even worrying about the fact that she'd slapped her superior officer alone was testament to how much she trusted him. A whap from a book or a fan was one thing. A slap across the face was another. That was a serious sign of disrespect and insubordination. And yet, she knew nothing would come of it. He would not censure her. He would not punish her. He would not even report it. Come to that, at the time he hadn't even acknowledged it. He knew he'd hurt her feelings; he'd done that a lot lately. But he'd also made her feel.

Nanao did not appreciate the realization that her captain could so easily toy with her emotions. However, as the sun rose before her she similarly had a dawning of clarity. Every day was a test. Every moment was training. Look at the difference between her and Hinamori, for example. Nanao too would be devastated if her captain suddenly left her and under such circumstances. However, she would not break. She would survive. More and more she was less dependent upon his approval. She was not completely free of the need for his good opinion, of course. What he thought of her apparently still meant a great deal to her. However, that alone would not guide her actions. He'd pushed and prodded her enough that she was capable of independent action, whether all of Seireitei approved or not. She had followed him to confront Yamamoto-Genryūsai because she trusted his judgment and because it had felt like the right thing to do. It was an action based on gut intuition without a moment's pause for rational thought. Afterwards she had been bitterly disappointed in her inability to stand with him through battle, but he hadn't said a word.

This time she did chuckle aloud. After all the aggravation and annoyance he had put her through, the end result was her betterment as an officer and a person. She'd worried that he was disappointed in her as his adjutant. Maybe she was too serious or too stoical or too sober for his liking. But no, that hadn't been it at all. She had been too obedient. Apparently the last thing he wanted was the perfect employee. He'd had that once, and her efficiency and obedience had led to disaster. Now Nanao understood his burst of anger at the end of their conversation that night. How long had he been trying to get through to her? A long time probably. The fact that they were nearly into autumn and the war was steadily approaching must have pushed him to be more direct. Apparently his statements about the division not being ready had included her as well. That was rather disheartening, but Nanao wasn't very surprised. The trainings had not only been for the benefit of keeping the rest of the eighth busy; she was trying to distract herself as well. Kyōraku-taichō had probably realized that too. It was rather annoying to realize the person you spent the majority of your time prodding, pushing, chasing, lugging, hitting, chastising and cleaning up after somehow found the time in the middle of all that to come to know you better than you could possibly know yourself.

Nanao turned from the window and quickly dressed herself. With the sun steadily rising and the birds starting to sing there was no way she could possibly go to sleep now, even if her mind was finally a little more at ease. She quietly trod down to the office and slowly slid the door open. It was empty, but she'd known it would be. She did not often come to work this early, but she knew the only other inhabitant of the office never did. Well, except perhaps once.

She ran a hand over the piano's top and then pulled back the lid. It was old. The ivory had long ago turned to yellow. Being close to it she could smell a faint mustiness she hadn't noticed before. She didn't mind, though. It was similar to the odor evoked by an old book whose covers hadn't been opened for a long time. It was a familiar scent and Nanao breathed it in. She traced her fingers over the tops of the keys lightly. This was the first time she'd even approached her taichō's gift since the day he'd given it to her. Kyōraku-taichō hadn't said anything, but he probably wondered at her reticence. This instrument had occupied so much of Nanao's previous lifetime. How many hours had she spent solidly running up and down the keys? How many times had she practiced a trill to make sure it tripped off her fingers as if they were simply naturally inclined to do so? It had been so long since she'd even set eyes on a piano, let alone touched or played one. The basics were etched into her being, though. Sometimes she caught herself absently fingering out the chords of a tune she'd thought she'd long ago forgotten. Even so, she was afraid to play it. Would she remember what to do? What would she even try to play? She had no music, and improvisation had not been a part of her discipline.

Yes, that's what the piano had been to her then. It had been an exercise in discipline, not unlike the same focused frame of mind she brought to her job. She thought back to her captain playing shamisen. He was unpracticed, but he played for the fun of making music. Had the piano ever been fun to her? What an odd thought. She had a gift for it, a definite knack. Her mother had taught her at first, and when Nanao's skill progressed, so too did the caliber of her teachers. How many instructors had she gone through in her short fourteen years? It hardly mattered. Nanao was talented and she had the drive to become better. But had she enjoyed it? She could neither say she did or that she didn't. It had been like breathing to her; you hardly noticed how dependent upon something you were until it was taken away from you. She'd adjusted, though. Life in Rukongai with her father and without the one thing that had connected them had been a little difficult, but mostly boring. She'd found new life in her books and then in her studies. Could she combine the Nanao she had been with the Nanao she'd become?

She sat on the bench and hesitantly assumed the proper position over the keys. Her heart was pounding. It was almost like going into battle. She closed her eyes and held her breath. Panicked thoughts came. What to play? Scales? That was the only thing she could think of. But she didn't want to play scales. They would warm her fingers up and maybe bring back a piece or two she'd once memorized. Instead, though, she simply let her thumbs, middle fingers and pinkies sink down. It was a simple chord, but the sound was pure and familiar. Her captain had not been a piano tuner's apprentice for nothing; he must have made sure the piano was perfectly in key before presenting it to her. She exhaled and let her mind go and her fingers wander about the keys. Sometimes the notes weren't precisely perfect, but that wasn't what mattered. Thought was gone. Technique was ignored. She trusted the mastery she'd once had and the skill she'd once acquired. Years of practice were ingrained into her soul. These weren't simply notes. This wasn't just music. These were songs of her soul. They poured out through her fingers without pause for reflection or thought. It was the freest she had ever felt.

She played probably for an hour or two, she wasn't sure. When she stopped for a break she was surprised to see a figure slouching in the doorway, watching her. She hadn't felt anyone's presence approaching, but then she had been very invested in what she'd been doing. At first she thought it was her captain, but after a moment she realized it wasn't him at all.

"Please excuse the interruption, but I'd like to talk to you, Ise-fukutaichō," said Kyōraku Yoshitsune.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sad my last chapter didn't get any reviews! But then, it wasn't a very "review-worthy" chapter. Hopefully this one is better :o). I'm not sure how much longer the story will continue; there's a set trajectory that will certainly cover a few more installments, but I don't think this will turn into some sort of huge monstrosity. Suggestions or ideas? Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 7: Interruption

Nanao shot up from the bench. What on earth was her captain's brother doing in the office? She should have greeted him, offered him a seat, gone to get him something to drink, maybe even gone to wake up her captain. But no, she simply stood there staring at him, as if he were a trick of the sun's early rays and would disappear in a moment.

"I realize this is a bit unexpected," he said, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck. It was so exactly what her taichō would have done in an uncomfortable situation Nanao found herself smiling at the similarity.

"I don't suppose my brother will be coming in anytime soon?"

She looked over at the clock on her desk.

"Training begins in half an hour. Barring any outside interference, that usually means Kyōraku-taichō will make his appearance in about three to seven hours' time."

He laughed. "Do you know, as a child Shun was up with the sun? He was more rambunctious than you could believe. He was constantly finding little animals and setting them loose throughout the house or playing pranks on the servants or Baba before anyone else was awake. It was great fun growing up with him around!"

This was interesting character insight into her captain, but somehow it didn't surprise Nanao at all. Well, except for the 'up with the sun' part. That was surely some sort of inauspicious, apocalyptic sign. Kyōraku-taichō had a long-standing love affair with his pillow. Few but Nanao dared interrupt their quality time together. She hardly believed there was a time in his life in which Kyōraku Shunsui was eager to get up.

"But maybe this is for the better," he continued. "Shunsui probably wouldn't appreciate seeing me here. I'm sure you picked up that there are a few family tensions. But we would really like to have him back home for a few days. There's been, well, I guess you could say it's something like a family crisis. No, that's too harsh a word. A 'situation,' then."

"I'm sure Kyōraku-taichō would appreciate hearing about this," Nanao responded stiffly. "I will go get him."

"No, wait," the older Kyōraku headed her off. "He won't come if I ask him. Sure _we_'re still close, but not so much that he'd come home if I just asked him to. I was thinking maybe you could 'suggest' he take a few days off and mend some fences with his kin. I'm sure it's thanks to you alone he even came for the gathering a few days ago. He's blown off every one of those for I don't know how long."

"He didn't seem very hesitant that day." Nanao crossed her arms. Something felt wrong here.

"Further evidence of the positive influence you have over him! He doesn't need to know about my coming to visit or asking you this. It would hurt his pride. But, honestly, it would be the best for him as well as the Kyōraku clan if we could just altogether come to an agreement and patch up our differences. I'm just asking for you to help get Shunsui to come home and I will do the rest." He grinned at her with that same Kyōraku smile she knew so well. He was nearly as good at wheedling as his younger brother.

"I do not feel comfortable deceiving my captain, Kyōraku-sama. If your situation is as significant as you seem to feel it is, I am sure he will choose the proper course of action. I will go get him and you can discuss this with him yourself."

She turned towards the door again. He made a move to interfere again but just then the door slid open and Kyōraku-taichō stood there. He looked neither flurried nor surprised to see his brother there. However, Nanao noticed he was wearing only his shinigami uniform and his hair was loose around his shoulders. He must have felt Yoshitsune's presence and hurried over.

"My my, Nī-chan – an unexpected pleasure! I don't believe you've ever visited me here before. Nanao-chan, did you show him around the office?"

"No, Taichō. He only just arrived."

"Yare, yare, so rude. Won't you have a seat, Nī-chan?" His voice was smooth and pleasant as he walked to his chair and settled down, but Nanao could tell he was less than pleased to see his brother there.

"I'm only stopping by Shunsui. I've come to ask for your help about… a certain incident." He glanced over hesitantly at Nanao.

"Nanao-chan, would you please close the door and then come take a seat by your desk?"

Yoshitsune sighed; this was not what he was intending, but he also knew Shunsui was doing this on purpose. Nothing had changed, it seemed. His stubborn determination was as set as ever.

"The… problem from a few years ago has arisen again."

"Oh? Well that's not surprising. I think I did warn you it would probably occur. Tea, Nī-chan?"

"Yes, well, now we need you again to help contain it."

"I think I was pretty clear when I said I was finished with that business," Kyōraku-taichō said with a frown. "Morning pick-me-up? I have a wonderfully smooth sake here I've been waiting for a special occasion to break open."

"This is serious, Shun! If it gets out of hand… if it's at all like last time… well, our family will be ruined."

"How does that line go again, Nanao-chan? The French one. '_Que sera sera_?'"

"Dammit, Shunsui! If we fall _you_ fall! Everything you've built, everything you've worked for and everything you've cared about will be ruined! You have no choice!"

"Yes, well, thank you for relaying the message, Nī-chan. It was lovely of you to stop by, but this morning's training exercises are about to begin so I really must ask you to go. I'm sure as the clan leader there must be some very important things you're neglecting right now."

Nanao wondered what the note of bitterness in the last phrase was supposed to suggest. Whatever it was, Yoshitsune well understood. He shoulders dropped and he sighed.

"That's why I can't take care of this myself. I have duties and responsibilities that prevent me from getting involved."

"Of course, whereas I'm the family sloth; certainly no duties or responsibilities on _my_ end," Kyōraku-taichō mused.

"Shun…" the elder brother pleaded.

"Well, thanks for coming by, Nī-chan!" the captain said brightly, approaching his brother and clapping a hand on his back. "Do let me know when you're planning on popping in next, or maybe you should just wait for me to come to you. Busy life here at Seireitei and all that!"

"There's one more thing before I go. Baba's not in Rukongai anymore."

Kyōraku-taichō's face became hard. "You said she was," he said coldly.

"She _was_! I only just found out she left to, to be with him. To help him and take care of him. And, considering the situation as it was last time and with the rumors of what I hear the Gotei 13 is facing… well, I'm wondering if they might not be related."

"Do you have any proof?"

"Of a connection? None besides coincidence, but in this circumstance I think that might be enough, don't you?"

Shunsui forced on a bright smile. "Not enough to pull me away from my devoted squad and my adorable Nanao-chan! Bye-bye, Nī-chan!" He pushed his brother out and pulled the screen door shut.

Nanao watched as he slowly walked back to his desk, sat down, and reached into a drawer to pull out a sake bottle. His attitude seemed relatively calm. He was not angry or agitated. He simply opened the bottle and took a slow sip. He settled back in his chair and seemed to ponder for a bit. Nanao started to let her shoulders relax. All of a sudden, though, he hurled the sake bottle into a corner of the room where it shattered on the floor. He propped his elbows on the desk and cradled his head in his hands. After a moment Nanao stealthily rose and approached the broken pottery.

"Leave it!" he snapped. "Someone else will take care of it."

"It might ruin the floor."

"Then let it. I've always thought the floor could use a bit of mottling. It's too uniform for my liking."

She sat back down and waited as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He stood and approached the window behind them. Squad members from the eighth and fifth were already starting to assemble. There was still a goodly amount of time before the day's trainings were to commence, but morale and energy were still soaring high among the troops. They were prepared for their captain whether he was ready for them or not.

"I'm sorry, Nanao-chan," he said softly. "Family meetings seem to bring out the worst in me."

"They do that with a lot of people, Taichō."

"I noticed the lid was open. Have you finally tried playing again?"

"A little, just before he came."

"I'm sorry he interrupted you, then. If I'd been a bit earlier maybe I'd have heard you. Will you play for me, Nanao-chan?"

"Sometime, Taichō. I'm not ready yet."

"Take your time."

There was a nervous pause before Nanao spoke again.

"Taichō, I know you think I'm not skilled or experienced enough, but if there is a familial obligation you need to take care of, I will do my best to breach the gap."

He abruptly turned away and busied himself with the assorted papers and trinkets lying about his desk.

"He's exaggerating. There's nothing to be concerned about. Not to mention, if he knew how close we were to possible annihilation I think he'd ask twice before suggesting I abandon my post to help him out of a minor family squabble. Did he say anything to you in particular?"

"He tried to enlist my help in getting you to go home for a few days."

"And what did you say?"

"I said it didn't feel right to go behind your back and that he should speak to you directly."

"Yes, thank you, Nanao. That was probably the best response. If he comes again, tell him to leave. He has no business here. There are other ways he can get in touch with me if need be without bothering my subordinates."

"If you say so, Taichō."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That was a rude start to the day. There's something I need to do. Nanao-chan, could you-?"

"I will begin the trainings with Hinamori-kun. Today's agenda is fairly low-key; we should be able to complete the tasks on our own if you require the whole day, Taichō."

"Thank you. And Nanao-chan…"

"I will tell nobody of what just occurred." He smiled and fondly chucked her chin.

"Thanks. Tell Jūshirō if he asks; he always seems to know what's going on with that crazy family of mine anyway. And don't look at me with that worried face. Everything is fine, but if I see my Nanao-chan upset then I'll become upset too."

"Yes, Taichō."

He turned and left then and she didn't see him again until nightfall. A few of the squad members had hesitantly asked Nanao where the captain was, but she simply warded them off by say that he was taking care of personal business. When he had still not returned by dinnertime she did start to worry a little. Directly after eating she returned to the office to wait for him. Ukitake-taichō indeed came to investigate what had happened and he waited in the office with her. She gave him an abbreviated version of events, including a brief summary of their visit to his family's estate a few days before. Ukitake simply nodded but offered no further elucidation.

By the time he returned, Nanao had fallen asleep at her desk. She woke to the low sounds of the two captains talking, but kept her head down and pretended to still be asleep.

"That's pretty low to ask you to take care of that mess all over again."

"I knew it was only a partial solution and that this would eventually be happening. We never should have done it in the first place. Family prestige and reputation be damned. I could care less."

"If you cared less you wouldn't have helped them before."

"You're right. I suppose that's why I'm giving in again, even though I swore I wouldn't."

"How are you going to go about it?"

"I alluded to needing to investigate something related to Sōsuke in the real world. I'm sure Yamaji knew my real purpose, but that hardly matters. He was reluctant but allowed me leave. I'm supposed to take Nanao along, though, supposedly to keep an eye on me."

"That's unusual. Why would he send her?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's afraid I'll be up to no good or will get easily distracted. He probably thinks she'll keep me on track."

"She is fairly good at that."

"Mm. I'll send her back the moment we arrive, though. She doesn't need to be involved in this. It's better if she's not."

"You're probably right. When are you going to tell her about it?"

"Later. I'll put her to bed right now. Until you hear otherwise, keep this to yourself."

"Naturally. I'll see myself out. Goodnight."

"Night." Kyōraku walked over to stand by the supposedly sleeping Nanao. "Well, you have two choices. You can either get up or you can continue the farce and I'll carry you home. Up to you."

Nanao lifted her head. "I only just woke up a little while ago," she said guiltily.

"That's fine. There's nothing we said that it wouldn't have been all right for you to hear." He sat down at his desk and pulled out a new sake bottle. Nanao was wondering just how many he stored in there. Perhaps it was time for a new inventory check.

"I thought you were going to bed."

"No, I was going to put _you_ to bed. I have a full night of pitying myself and getting sloshed ahead of me. You may do whatever you like."

"Why don't you want me to help you?"

"You do help me. You help me every day. Your services are highly valued."

"I mean in this circumstance."

"It doesn't concern you."

"Yamamoto-Genryūsai apparently thinks it does."

"It doesn't concern him either. This is the result of a foolish, stupid action on my family's part from long ago. It involves no one but us and ideally I wouldn't have anything to do with it either." He drank heavily from the bottle.

"But you are."

"How observant of you."

"_Do_ you think there's a connection with Aizen?"

He paused before answering. "It's possible. Not as strongly possible as I tried to make it sound to Yamaji, but there's a potential link."

"Then won't you need backup?"

"No. If there is a connection then that's all the more reason that no one else should be involved. It'll be exactly as I say. We'll go along with orders for now, but the moment we're in the real world you are to return straightaway. Are we clear?"

"We're clear, but that doesn't mean we're in agreement."

"Just trust me on this one, Nanao-chan. You do not want to be involved in this."

"There are several things I might not 'want' to have anything to do with that I nonetheless become involved with as a result of my duty and my position. If Yamamoto-Genryūsai believes I may be of assistance to you then I would like help."

"The answer is no, Nanao-chan."

"Then the response is that I will report this conversation to Yamamoto-Genryūsai and you will have to find a new way to sneak off to the real world."

He drank again. "Well played, Nanao-chan. When did you become so underhanded?"

"Working with you has given me more than enough practice. Are you afraid I will get underfoot?"

"Possibly. You could be of great assistance, but you could also be a huge liability. You don't know what you're going up against."

"But you do. I trust your judgment. Besides, without me there, how do I know you aren't using this as an excuse to run off, get drunk and compose tanka?"

He smiled ruefully. "That is probably a distinct possibility."

"Very well. When do we leave?"

"We'll take tomorrow to get everything in order. We leave at midnight. No one is to know."

"For how long?"

"However long it takes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Oops, almost forgot a message :o). Thanks to reviewers - I really like hearing your feedback and I chuckle at your comments! Suggestions are definitely taken to heart and I'm working on ways to integrate them. You make this even more fun for me. So far, first fic ever is turning out well :o). Thesis calls and I must work on it, but I'll try to keep doing on average about a chapter a day (might have to miss here and there). Thanks! Please let me know what you think!**

Chapter 8: Playing House

"So, you're clear on when you'll be arriving, when I'll show up, and when the gate will reopen for us to return?" Kyōraku Yoshitsune asked nervously.

"We've covered it four times, so yes, I think I have the general idea."

"I really appreciate you doing this, Shun."

"You better."

"I have to admit I'm a little surprised you ended up agreeing."

"Are you trying to talk me out of it?"

"No! I just… well, I appreciate it. Thank you."

Kyōraku Shunsui sighed and looked around him. He felt a little naked without his haori, hat and captain's robe, but they would attract too much attention. It was pitch black outside, but nonetheless, this was one occasion in which the normally flamboyant taichō could not risk identification.

"By the way, Nī-chan, did you, um, did you get what I asked?"

Yoshitsune sighed and shook his head. "It wasn't easy, particularly with the lack of forewarning and the nature of the subject. But yes, I got it." He handed his younger brother a slim magazine.

Kyōraku-taichō flipped it open and raised an eyebrow. "This is the best you could do?"

"Yes, it's the best I could do. As it is, I had to get it myself! That's not exactly something you can send a servant to go scout around and find. So, I'm sorry, I didn't have many options and I grabbed the first one I saw."

"This could be the difference between failure and success. I just hope it's enough," Kyōraku sighed and tucked the magazine away.

"The gate's about to open. Good luck, Shunsui."

"Thanks, Nī-chan. And, when you see Nanao, give her this." He started handing over a thin letter.

"Wouldn't it be better to give it to me yourself, Taichō?"

Kyōraku noticeably jumped and turned around. He swore under his breath as Nanao emerged from the shadows and pulled back her concealing hood.

"A reiatsu-blocking cloak – clever. Where'd you pick that up, Nanao-chan?"

"I don't always turn in everything I confiscate. Meanwhile, weren't you forgetting something – namely, me?"

"Well, I did say I was leaving at midnight." He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Mmhmm, and meant for me to believe you intended tomorrow night. How lucky I thought I might just check tonight anyway. Good thing I also thought to leave behind contingency instructions."

"Shun, the gate's about the open."

"In a minute, Nī-chan." Shunsui grabbed Nanao's elbow and pulled her to the side. "You really don't want to do this, Nanao-chan."

"Do you honestly absolutely feel that I would ruin whatever mission you have?"

"No, but-"

"Are you certain I would not be able to help you?"

"No, quite the contrary."

"Then why are we still talking about this?"

He looked behind him as the gates opened and a bright light shone forth. He put a hand on her arm and leaned over to look directly into her eyes.

"Do you feel ready for whatever it is we might face?"

Nanao squared her shoulders. The honest answer was 'no,' particularly with how secretive he was being, but Nanao felt maybe it was time to take his advice and trust in her abilities. "I do."

"Then let's go." He pushed her in front of him and they ran through the portal.

"I'll see you at the party in three days' time!" Yoshitsune called after them. The gates swung closed and within a short while they emerged through the tunnel in the middle of an empty field without a single building or road in sight.

"Where are we, Taichō? The outskirts of Karakura?"

"Karakura? No, no, we won't be going there for a while. We're going there," he pointed towards the tree-covered mountains in front of them. As she squinted, Nanao thought she could make out the rooftops of a small village at the base of the central hill.

"What's there?"

"A lot of trees. Come, Nanao-chan, and keep the cloak on. I'm also wearing a reiatsu-blocking device. We want to make sure no one knows we're here until we're safely in our gigai."

They set off for the settlement. Unfortunately the field they'd landed in was a recently cleared rice paddy. Even though they made no footprints, the water soaked through their sandals and socks, and although the insects could not bite them they still swarmed.

"This would almost make an interesting study of the effect of real world objects and animals while we're in spirit form," she commented, waving some flies away.

"Only you could take an annoying situation and make it utterly unbearable by adding some sort of educational benefit to it," he muttered grumpily.

"Are you still upset I came?"

"No."

"If you really don't want me here then-"

"Isn't it a little late for you to suddenly be accommodating?" He interrupted. "A little faster, we should make it to the village well before the sun sets."

"Why is it daylight here when it was the middle of the night when we left Soul Society?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

"Is that always the way? Are our days and nights opposite?"

"I reiterate."

She sighed and continued mucking through the mud. Whether her being there upset him or not, it was clear at least that _he_ didn't want to be there.

"Will you at least finally tell me what we're here to do?"

"Nope. Oh look, an eagle!" They watched as a golden eagle took advantage of the rice paddy's shorn state and swooped down to pick up an exposed frog.

"Will you at least tell me where in Japan we are?"

"Not far from Karakura. Only a couple hours by train, probably. Of course, that depends on which train you take."

This told Nanao absolutely nothing.

"Would you prefer I keep my questions to myself then?"

"Up to you. You'll probably just get more of the same answers, though."

"So I'll just follow your lead?"

"That sounds about right."

They continued in silence for a few more minutes.

"It's because of the tunnel," Nanao finally said, her eyes boring into his back. "It interrupts the timeframes in both worlds, affecting when we emerge. That's why it's daylight."

"That it does."

"It's in any first year textbook. Why did you say you didn't know?"

"Why did you pretend you didn't?"

"To get some sort of response from you."

"Well you got it. Anything more you'd like me to react to?"

She sighed and shook her head. He wasn't exactly in a bad mood, just apparently a difficult one. They finally reached the village and he led her down a poorly paved street lined with mostly dilapidated buildings and the occasional more modern square cement structure housing empty stores and restaurants. It was both quaint and depressing. Moreover, no one seemed to be about.

"Does anyone live here?"

"Probably not. The population kept getting older and older and fewer young people stuck around. Not to mention, there's only a dirt road leading to the village and that's nearly impassable in the winter."

"You know the village well then? You've been here before?"

He scowled at her. This was one of Nanao's interrogation techniques; she would make obvious statement or ask questions she already knew the answers to just to see what additional information she could draw out from people. Having seen her use it multiple times and occasionally gotten caught in the trap himself, Kyōraku relied on flippancy to avoid being pinned down to anything. Looks like once again she managed to get him to admit more than he was intending to.

"Yes," he said with a sigh. "I've been here a few times. And yes, including in winter. The village is close to where we'll be going tomorrow so it's an important stopover to change into gigai and pick up supplies."

"And where are we going tomorrow?"

"Up there." He pointed to the mountains.

"And what's up there?"

"A lot of trees. Don't you listen?"

They stopped in front of a rundown two-story wooden structure that hardly seemed distinctive from the others along the street. Kyōraku inserted one of his swords into a hidden slot beneath the lock securing the sliding doors to one another. After hearing a click, he braced his arm against the frame and shoved the door open. After years of little use and the wood swelling from the recent rainy season, the door was very reluctant to move. Finally it complied and Nanao looked in at a single tatami room with cupboards and kitchen supplies in the back, a fire pit in the middle and a staircase in the far left corner. Kyōraku entered and sat down on the ledge separating the low cement entryway from the tatami room.

"Home sweet derelict home," he chuckled and began removing his sandals. Nanao would just as soon leave her shoes on before entering this place. Still, she followed suit and then nervously climbed the steep, rickety stairs her taichō had just disappeared beyond. One step in particular groaned ominously, causing her to reach out and grab hold of the railing. So far, this was not a fun outing.

Upstairs, Kyōraku had succeeded in forcing open one of the windows in the single room upstairs and was pulling out a heavy, damp futon from a wide series of cupboards along the wall.

"Stay back," he called as he started to shake the futon. Nanao coughed from the dust and retreated to the other side where she pried open the only other window in the room and looked out over the town. Beyond the one street there was nothing. As the buildings opposite this one were only single story structures, she could see out over the rice paddies to the barely visible glistening sea beyond.

"Someone must be living near here," she murmured. "Who else would be tending the fields?" Even so, the knowledge of some inhabited locale being nearby did not lessen the sense of isolation. She tried to figure out roughly where she was, but even though she could figure out from the sun's position that was facing roughly northeast that still gave her no idea as to which side of the country she was on. As for time of year, if the rice had been cut but the fields were still unburned, then this was probably late summer or early fall, just like in Soul Society. However, without any additional information she still could not figure out her bearings at all.

"Scooch," Kyōraku said, bringing over a second, top futon to hang over the window ledge. The heavier one was already propped over the windowsill he'd opened earlier. He went back to the cupboard and pulled out a couple pillows, hitting them soundly to get some of the dust and moisture out.

"There are two gigai in that other closet," he said, indicating with his chin. Nanao went over and slid the door open. She supposed that normally this is where a family altar would be stored, however it was empty of both altar and false bodies.

"There's nothing here."

"Take your cloak off."

She did so and suddenly they came into view. They were crumpled on the floor like marionettes without strings. She had seen gigai a few times, but even though she was familiar with them they still made her queasy. These in particular were a model that had not been given features and would adapt to echo a person's soul appearance; without someone inside, though, they were just androgynous humanoid shapes – far from actually looking like people but close enough to be eerie. It was rather clever at least to make them invisible to anyone who was not emitting spiritual power, though.

"Here, Taichō." She handed one over to him. He grabbed it and put it on the floor by him.

"Just a minute," he said, rummaging through a bag he'd brought with him. He pulled out some clothing and then handed a neatly folded set to Nanao.

"Just in case you outsmarted me after all," he admitted. She smiled coolly and dressed the gigai, adding a few additional feminine items she'd thought to bring from her. Perhaps it was a good thing Matsumoto kept throwing various items and apparel brought back from the real world at her. She stepped into the gigai and inspected herself. Not too bad. Her captain had brought her a simple white skirt, a peach colored shirt and a thin blue canvas jacket. Considering the opportunity (not to mention the disposition) he had of giving her something utterly embarrassing, this was pretty good.

"Not bad, Taichō. Did you just have these lying around?"

He glanced up and her and returned to dressing his own gigai. "They were my sister's when she used to come down here. It seemed like they'd fit you."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"I don't. Not anymore." He put the finishing touches on his false body then he looked up at her and winked. "Don't get too relieved; wait till you see what I brought for pajamas."

"Lucky I brought my own."

"You're no fun."

"I'm glad to hear it." Nanao crossed her arms. Still, it was good to see he was in a better mood. He stepped into his body and stepped back.

"What do you think?" True to form, he had to be just that little bit flashier than everyone else around him. He was wearing khakis and a black silk shirt covered with tropical flowers.

"It looks like you."

"Thanks. I'm going to go to the stream out back to get some fish. See what you can find in the garden." He pulled out a pair of shoes from the bag and went downstairs. Nanao followed and exited out a small doorway behind the stairs. While in her youth in the real world she'd lived on the outskirts of a large town in what she supposed was technically the country, she'd spent most of her time inside. She didn't even know what she was looking for. Still, she found a plump daikon and some greens she thought she recognized. Inside the house she located a jar of pickled something and some dried mushrooms she could reconstitute. All in all, it seemed like a feasible meal. She gathered some firewood and started chopping the vegetables. Apparently the stream was rather plentiful because soon her captain was back with a pail full of fresh water and four smelt on a stake.

Nanao couldn't help but smile as she watched him through the open doorway. His pants were rolled to the knee and his shirt was sticking to him from the humidity. Would anyone believe that this was the second son of one of the noblest families in Soul Society and a prestigious captain of the Gotei 13? He didn't seem out of place, though. But then, that was just how he was; Kyōraku-taichō was comfortable no matter the setting.

"Aw, you look so cute and domestic," he cooed as he scuffed off his shoes and put the pail down. She brandished the knife in her hand as he approached.

"Who's cute and dometic?"

"My Nanao-chan," he answered, sidestepping the knife and planting a kiss on her head. "Thanks for getting the firewood. I'll get the water boiling and we'll have soup tonight."

"Good, I think that's the only thing I know how to cook."

"Then we'll have a bland couple of meals. Don't worry about it." He settled down before the pit and soon had the fire going. Nanao watched as he attached an iron pot to the large hook suspended to just above the pit and threw the water and vegetables inside. He rubbed two of the fish with salt he scraped out of a small jar Nanao hadn't noticed, skewered them with thin sticks and then propped them just out of reach of the flames.

"What are you thinking?" he asked with a grin when he realized Nanao was watching every move.

"Just that of the two of us you are far more domestic than I am. I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed."

His grin grew and he turned back to stoke the fire.

"Well, as you noted, I've been here a few times before." He stood and went out to the garden to get a few more vegetables Nanao had missed.

"Do you want me to do anything?" she called out to him.

"Flip the futon. We're going to miss the last little bit of sunlight soon and we want to get as much moisture out as possible."

She ran upstairs and did as he asked. They were much heavier than she'd imagined. That would make for an interesting bed. Come to that, she wondered what they would do for sleeping arrangements. There was only the one set of futon. She decided she would worry about this later. For now the scents of dinner drew her downstairs.

They sat next to the fire well past finishing their simple but tasty and filling meal. Kyōraku-taichō chewed on a piece of grass and Nanao sat drinking tea and gazing into the flames. How many times had she been alone with her captain before this? Still, something felt different – not uncomfortable, just different. Actually, Nanao felt very at home. By firelight, this rundown little house with the sagging frame and worn flooring had a particular charm and easiness to it. Tensions seemed to fall away as she sat there. Even Kyōraku seemed somehow a little more calm and serene than usual, and this was even in a place that didn't appear to have a drop of sake nearby. They sat in a comfortable silence for hours, well after crickets started chirping and the lightning bugs entered through the open doors. It was only when the mosquitoes started nipping at their ankles and arms that Kyōraku started pulling down the fire.

"Go set up the futon, I'll be up in a minute. There's a lamp under the stairs if you want."

"Um, about that, Taichō. Since it's so warm tonight, we may as well just sleep on top of one futon each and not bother with a cover."

He chuckled. "That'll work until early morning when it'll be freezing. Sorry, Nanao, we're going to have to share."

"Taichō-"

"Ah, you _did_ say you were ready for whatever we might face."

She grumbled something unintelligible in response.

"I won't touch you, my little chaste one. I'll even let you know when I'm coming up so you can be changed before I go upstairs. Will that suit your prudish ways?" he teased.

"Yes, Taichō," she sighed and pushed herself up. She didn't bother with the lamp; the moon was more than bright enough. She quickly changed, set up the bedding, arranged the two pillows and then settled down under the top quilt. It was still so heavy that she felt her arm was going to go to sleep. She felt she could barely breathe. Well, at least it might be sufficiently heavy to plant her taichō in place all night long. He called up a moment later and she responded that she was ready. With some difficulty she turned to her side and looked out the window at the moon. She heard the sounds of her captain getting ready behind her and felt the top cover move as he settled beside her. Suddenly his arms were around he and he placed a firm and loud kiss on her cheek.

"Night, Nanao-chan!" he said merrily then released her and rolled over, taking much of the cover with him. She sighed and settled down to what would likely be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Reunion

Nanao buried her face into the covers to block out the cold that was nipping at her nose and forehead. She was freezing and tired and couldn't feel her limbs and was decidedly not happy. This emotion was only intensified when she felt a hand clamp over her shoulder and heard her captain's low voice whisper good morning in her ear. She violently shifted to get him off of her. Rather than being put out, though, he simply laughed.

"Come on, Nanao-chan, it's morning! It's time to get up! We have a lovely day of climbing ahead of us and we should get going. Up, up, up!"

"Go away," she said from below the leaden cover. "I'm tired."

"Well maybe you would have gotten more sleep if you hadn't been as stiff as a board last night."

She shoved the blanket down and glared at him. "Maybe I would have gotten more sleep if _someone_ hadn't stolen the cover and then kicked me all night long!"

He looked down at her. "You're very pretty without your glasses, Nanao-chan," he said softly. Her response was to snort and duck back under the futon. He laughed and prodded her.

"Come on, Nanao-chan! Aren't you the one who is usually trying to get me up? This is very hypocritical of you, you know."

"I think I prefer you hungover."

He laughed at that too. Apparently grumpy Nanao was great fun.

"I'll go make breakfast. You be down in five minutes or I'm pulling you out and dressing you myself," he threatened with a grin and then descended the stairs. She grudgingly emerged from the heavy bedding and rummaged through her rucksack to see what normal clothing she'd brought with her. They'd be climbing, so pants were preferable to the skirt she'd worn the day before. Only, she didn't know what she'd be doing or whom they'd be meeting. Additionally, the only outfits she'd brought were unsuitable for climbing and she didn't want to get them dirty. With a resigned sigh she pulled out yesterday's clothing, got dressed, put away the bed and went downstairs.

Her captain was roasting the remaining two fish from the night before and boiling water for miso soup.

"There's some water left if you want to wash your face. This will be ready in a minute. Sorry there's no rice; I didn't realize we were out."

She shook her head again in amazement at how comfortable he seemed putting together their meals. Aside from cleaning, Nanao had few homemaking skills. By the time she'd finished washing her face and arranging her hair the meal was ready.

"It's not much," he apologized as she seated herself next to him, "but if we hurry we should get to where we're going before noon and can eat there."

"And are you going to tell me where we're going finally?"

"We're going to a temple."

She paused in mid bite. "We're going _where_?"

"A temple," he repeated nonchalantly. "I think it belongs to the Soto Zen sect if you want to be particular."

"Why are we going to a temple?"

"Because that's why we came here."

"And… what or who will we find at the temple?"

"Some statues, few paintings, couple old men, maybe a relic or two – although I'm not sure which of the two categories that one fits into."

"Kyōraku-taichō you _have_ to tell me more than just that!" she cried. He just smiled enigmatically at her and rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Why? It's far more fun this way."

"But how can I help you if you if you don't tell me what's going on?"

"Well," he handed her his bowl, "you can help me by doing the dishes while I go pack our bags. We'll probably be spending the night there." He pushed himself up and ran up the stairs. She could hear his laugh in response to her aggravated cry.

The morning's damp cold did not last long, and as the hill was steep and its path not well kept Nanao found herself warming up rather quickly from the exercise. They paused mid morning for a break. Kyōraku reached into his bag and handed Nanao a large pill.

"I got these from Retsu-sempai. They should spark you up in no time."

She nodded and settled next to him on a fallen log.

"Is it good to be back here?" she asked.

He looked at the forest around them. "Yes, actually. I was positively set against coming back here. But I guess I missed it. Of course, I'll admit it's nice having someone to share it with and show it to."

Nanao blushed a little but smiled. "So, it's not terrible that I came?"

"No, not from my end. You may still end up regretting it, though."

"Why is that?"

"Because I know you and I know you won't like what's ahead of us."

"And what's ahead of us?"

"Well, let's go find out," he stood and offered her his hand. She shook her head ruefully at him then took his hand and pulled herself up. After a couple more hours they reached the far side of the hill and came upon the back of a temple complex. It consisted of several buildings and a small shrine to the side. It appeared to be well kept and maintained, particularly for a mountain temple. But then, the busy road running right beside it and the wide staircase reaching down to a large town below could have had something to do with it.

"Taichō."

"Yes, Nanao-chan?"

"May I ask you why we did not take the road here?" Nanao asked evenly.

"Certainly."

"Why didn't we take the road here?"

"Because we weren't close to the road and I wanted us to take the path. Although I guess we could have taken the bus into town. Still, wasn't it a lovely hike?"

"Taichō."

"Yes, Nanao-chan?"

"If I were not very tired right now, I think I would want to hurt you."

"Duly noted, Nanao-chan. Also, no more 'Taichō' around here. We want to blend in."

"So, what should I call you?"

"I'm not sure; I'll have to see whether or not it's all right to use my family name here. Don't worry, you'll think of something. You usually have no trouble getting my attention," he grinned.

"What about me?"

"You're still my Nanao-chan."

"But, they're going to think-"

"That you and I are a couple and I'm bringing you here to meet my uncle? What a marvelous cover, Nanao-chan. How do you come up with these ideas?"

"Your uncle is here?"

"Mmhmm. Actually I have a lot of family members here. In fact, before this whole little errand is over you may have the dubious honor of meeting pretty well the whole of my family. Well, except for those cousins and other assorted members of my extended family I didn't introduce you to at my brother's house. I hardly know who they are either. Probably not that important."

"That still doesn't solve just what I'm supposed to call you."

"There's always Shunsui," he pointed out.

"No, there's not." She folded her arms.

"Well then you come up with something. Meanwhile, let's go in."

He took hold of her elbow and propelled her past the gate into the temple courtyard. There were a few assorted locals and tourists wandering the precinct and praying before the large Kannon bodhisattva in the main building. Kyōraku left her to go speak with the two priests sitting in a little hut where they sold amulets, charms and personalized calligraphic petitions. Nanao walked up to the main gate and looked at the guardian deities on either side. Sadly they were covered in chicken wire to keep the pigeons away. It somewhat detracted from their intimidation factor.

"Oi, Nanao-chan!" She turned to see her captain waving her over. "We're going inside to find my uncle."

She caught up and entered the side buildings, pausing only to remove her shoes at the entrance. One of the priests, who looked to be a novice, led them back through a few narrow but well-maintained and brightly lit hallways until they reached the administrative part of the temple that visitors generally didn't see. He stopped by an office, knocked on the door, announced there were visitors, then bowed and left.

Kyōraku stepped forward and filled the doorway. "Jiji-chan!" he cried. Nanao peered around his frame at the rather solid, short man before them.

"Shun-kun," he cried and walked forward. "How are you?"

Nanao smiled as she watched them greet each other. The stocky priest almost made her want to laugh. He wasn't very tall and he wasn't stout but everything about him just seemed oversized. He had large hands and large feet and the most massively large head Nanao had ever seen. In fact, his head was so large his glasses were straining at their hinges and seemed to have dug into the bald skin far above his ears. But he had a delightful smile and a happy sense about him. Nanao would have never guessed these two men were related except perhaps for the easy camaraderie between them likely fostered over years spent in one another's company.

"Ah, Jiji-chan, this is Ise Nanao, my," he smiled at her, "pal."

The uncle eagerly rushed forward and enthusiastically bowed to greet her. "Ah, Ise-san, I am pleased to meet you."

"I am pleased to meet you as well, obō-san," she said respectfully.

"Ah, no no no no no," he said, waving his hand frantically. "Jiji-chan is fine! Call me Jiji-chan!"

Nanao had to smile to keep from laughing aloud. Everything this man seemed to do was hyperactive. It was impossible not to like him, particularly as he seemed insistent she refer to him as "geezer."

"Jiji-chan, we're _starved_. Can we get something to eat here? Or maybe you'll go with us to a ramen shop?"

"Yes! Let's do ramen! Perfect! I love ramen! What a good day, Shun-kun comes to visit and we're going to get ramen! Yes, let's go!" He puttered around the office for half a moment to put things away as he muttered then eagerly set out down the hallway without waiting for the other two to follow. Nanao looked up at Kyōraku and they both laughed.

Jiji-chan popped his head around the corner and frantically waved them over. "Come come come come come," he said and then ducked out of sight again. Grinning broadly, Nanao and Kyōraku followed him out of the temple grounds and down into the busy town below. It was quite a culture shock compared with the ghost town they'd spent the night in. Nanao fell behind the men as they caught up. Jiji-chan continually talked about assorted people he seemed to assume everyone would know. However, when her captain actually started responding to some of his comments, Nanao realized that these must be some of the mutual relatives in the temple behind them. Given the number of names, though, nearly the entire staff had to have been made up of the Kyōraku clan. That in itself was curious. What on earth were all these people from Soul Society doing, well, on earth? Why in a temple? Why had she never heard of anything like this before? Was it something many noble families did?

In her ponderings Nanao fell further and further behind. As it was the lunch hour, the streets were suddenly full of people and she had trouble keeping up with captain even though he was at least a head taller than the people around her.

"Kyō-" she started to call and then clamped down on her lip. He still hadn't found out whether it was all right to use his name or not. There was another mystery. But there was no time to think about this. He kept getting further ahead and Nanao was fighting against crowds of people going opposite where she needed to go. It didn't help when three people pushed her against a building as they made room for a madly ringing bicycle. She was stuck in a town whose name she didn't even know and she had no idea what the next step of her captain's plans were. She freed herself and anxiously tried to catch up.

"Shu-" she tried but she just could not force herself to call out his proper name. Finally, in desperation, as she was about to lose sight of him entirely she cried out, "Anata!"

No sooner had the word escaped her mouth than Nanao closed her eyes and willed the earth to swallow her whole. Utter mortification washed over her. And, of course, _that_ got her captain's attention. Out of all the cars honking and the people talking on cellphones and the jabbering old man beside him, he had most definitely heard her call him _that_. In and of itself, "anata" just meant "you." In fact, it could just be a rather formal way of addressing another person, albeit usually someone in a subordinate position. But in this case, particularly between a man and a woman in any sort of close relationship, "anata" took on a meaning much closer to an endearment. She sounded like a beleaguered wife calling after her wayward husband. Kyōraku stopped short and waited with a bemused grin and a quizzical lift to his eyebrow as she caught up with them. She gave him a stony glance that dared him to say anything. Instead he just held back the fabric panels in front of the restaurant they were standing next to and indicated she should enter. However, that smile did not leave his face for a good long while.

It wasn't until Jiji-chan left to go to the bathroom that Kyōraku finally turned to her, the grin still on his face.

"Well that was interesting. Well done playing into character. I told you you'd have no trouble getting my attention."

"Just figure out if you can use your family name or if you need to come up with an alias already," she snapped.

"This is not my fault. I told you to just call me Shunsui."

"I tried. I couldn't make myself do it."

"And yet 'anata' just flows right off the tongue?"

She glared at him. "If you tell a single person," she grumbled.

"Fear not, Nanao-chan. After all, who would believe me?"

This was a blessedly true point.

"Can't you just ask whatever it is you need to find out so we can move on?" she asked desperately.

"Fine, as soon as Jiji-chan comes back."

"As soon as I come back what?" the older man asked, sliding up the table.

"I wanted to ask if we can stay at the temple tonight. We've got an early train to catch tomorrow and the village is just too far."

"Oh, of course! Yes yes yes, that would be good! Ah, we can spend all night drinking and catch up! Are you a good drinker?"

"I've been known to partake every now and then," Kyōraku said smoothly. Nanao snorted. Jiji-chan looked over at her and blinked in confusion.

"Nanao loves alcohol too, Jiji-chan," he lied glibly. "She's a much stronger drinker than I am. She looks down at my pitiful attempts to keep up with her." He grinned mischievously as she glared back. Without the freedom to even snap out an annoyed "Taichō," Nanao had to let her eyes do the talking.

They walked back to the temple after lunch and Jiji-chan shuffled off to finish his administrative duties. Another young priest directed them towards the temple's extra rooms for overnight guests and travelers. It looked like once again Nanao and her captain would be sharing a room, but this one at least had an ample number of futon. They dropped their bags off, but Kyōraku leaned over to rummage through her pack and pulled out her zampakutō. He handed it to her without a word and she rolled up her sleeve to attach it to her forearm. His swords were far too bulky to simply carry around outside the large backpack he brought to store them, but it would not do for both of them to be unarmed.

They wandered about the temple grounds for the rest of the afternoon. Nanao watched as Kyōraku bowed before the large Kannon statue. She awkwardly followed his example and he grinned at her attempts.

"You're not used to Buddhist temples?"

"No. When I lived in the real world being Buddhist was not encouraged."

"I thought you died fairly recently."

"It was about a century ago, actually. The Japan I lived in had a very different feel to it then. They had just won the Russo-Japan war and were starting to expand into the Asian continent. This was the time of the nationalist buildup, where the government used Shinto themes to support their created ideology and mythological history. Buddhism, as a foreign import, was persecuted, although not quite so much as to really eliminate it."

"I remember that time period. I thought many people still kept their family altars at least?"

"We did. My family was pretty well divided between modern and traditional, though. My father was a minor official and supported the government's drive to eliminate 'non-scientific' religious nonsense, as he saw it, but he gave in to the altar because of how much it meant to my mother. Still, as much as possible, my father wanted everything to be modern and Western, from our furniture to our clothing to the very schools my little brother and I went to."

"Including having a proficient piano player for a daughter?"

"Precisely. I was my father's daughter through and through. My mother tried occasionally to teach me the prayers she would perform each morning before our family altar, but I didn't pay attention. My brother was much more like my mother in that regard, and since he was the one who would inherit the responsibility of praying to the ancestors anyway, she devoted most of her time and attention to him."

"Whatever happened to your brother?"

"He grew up and got married and had three daughters. They were all killed in the major war a few decades later. I tried to find him in Soul Society but I didn't know the first place to look. He was never very strong; depending on where he ended up he may have died right away and has already been reborn in another lifetime."

Kyōraku chuckled softly. "I've been in this lifetime for so long I don't remember any others. A good, long life is a fine thing, but it's nice to get a fresh start too," he said almost wistfully. Nanao couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. He caught her eyes on him and winked.

"If you think you had a confusing childhood caught between two worlds, think how poor Kannon here feels," he said, indicating towards the statue.

"What do you mean?"

"This, my dear Nanao-chan, is Kannon-sama, and she, or perhaps I should say 'he,' has had a very interesting time of it the past few centuries. Originally a male bodhisattva from India, somewhere along the line 'he' turned into a 'she.' In fact, sometimes 'she' still is a 'he.' At least you didn't have people playing around with your gender and identity! I wonder if poor Kannon-sama knows who he or she is anymore?"

She looked up at the giant, tarnished bronze statue and shook her head. Religion was weird.

"Come on, let's find Jiji-chan. We _are_ starting to run out of time and I need him suitably lubricated before he'll start giving me some answers."

"Must be a family trait," Nanao muttered as Kyōraku grabbed her hand and pulled her away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi, yes, look at that - another chapter! Can you believe it's already chapter 10? In my word file this is already up to page 55. If I wrote my thesis that fast I'd have a draft finished already :oP. However, I have a much better idea of where this story is going and I want to get it finished and tied up. Thanks to the many reviews and of course I hope to hear more :o). **

Chapter 10: Real World Karakura

Nanao shifted to sit directly on the tatami floor and spare her knees from continually sitting seiza. "Quality time" with Jiji-chan went on and on as he continually filled cup after cup for his two guests. Kyōraku returned the favor and made sure Jiji-chan's glass was always full. For her part, Nanao was exhausted and feeling dizzy. Things were not made easier by Jiji-chan's insistence that she was unnecessarily holding back on his account and should really feel free to have as much as she wanted. The conversation stayed completely light and jovial throughout most of the night. Nanao was starting to feel that this 'family crisis' was nothing more than Kyōraku-taichō's need for a weekend out on the town. Finally, though, he put his cup down and the mood in the room changed.

"Ne, Jiji-chan, you know why I came," he said with a sight sigh.

"More! Let me pour you more! Let's have more! Did I tell you about the time I-"

"Oi, Jiji-chan. Enough. Nanao-chan's about to fall asleep and we can't miss our train tomorrow. We're meeting Nī-chan at the company party and we have to get everything cleared up. I can't stay here and shoot the breeze with you as much as I want to. I have a job to do. I'm sorry Jiji-chan," he added as he watched the older man's face fall.

"I knew one of you boys would be coming soon. After you swore to have nothing more to do with the whole thing I thought it would probably be Yoshi-kun. When I saw you in the doorway, well, I thought maybe you'd just come to visit your ole Jiji-chan and we could put off the unpleasantness for a while longer."

"I'm sorry, Jiji-chan, but I have to resolve this. What happened? Why didn't you notify us sooner?"

"I thought I could keep it under control," he sniffed. "I thought as long as I kept an eye on him, even if he wasn't in the temple anymore, everything would be all right."

"That wasn't our agreement. He knew that too. He took advantage of you. Now then, what's he up to? Is it the same as last time?"

Jiji-chan paled and shook his head. "I don't know. I hope not. Is there a chance it could be? I thought that was all taken care of."

"Things have… changed a little bit in Soul Society. We're in a somewhat vulnerable position right now."

"So he could actually succeed?" Jiji-chan's voice cracked. Kyōraku raised a hand to calm him down.

"Don't get excited, I didn't say that. No, I don't think he'd win, but he would complicate matters for us at a time when we can't afford to be distracted. What about Baba's coming down? Do you know anything about that?"

Jiji-chan shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't know she was here. Why would she come? She felt a duty and responsibility to him but she never really liked him all that much."

"Do you think she's helping him?"

"If so it's only while she's waiting for you to come and fix everything."

"Are you sure?"

"That woman has an iron core that can't be easily swayed. She'll tell him anything he wants to hear but you can always depend on her to do the right thing."

Kyōraku nodded in agreement. "What about the kids? Any sign of trouble from them?"

"No, each generation's spiritual power seems to be waning. Every now and then there's an oddity who shows up but for the most part they appear completely normal and unremarkable."

"So, if he's doing this again, he's all on his own or he's finding help from an unrelated source?"

"Probably. I may not have kept as close an eye on him as I should have, but I _have_ kept very detailed records on each of the children. There's nothing from them to suggest any of them realize the connection or are intending to help him."

Kyōraku sighed and stood up. "Thanks Jiji-chan. I needed to know what I was facing before I confronted him. Is there anything else you can think of?"

"No, but if there's anything I'll call. You'll be staying at the flat?"

"Yeah, Nī-chan said we could use it. He'll be with a friend." He reached out a hand to help Nanao up. They exited the room and walked to the intersection between the priests' quarters and the guest lodgings. Nanao was surprised to see a group of priests walking towards them but she supposed it was already early morning and time for work at the temple. The two bid goodnight to Jiji-chan and then stood to wait for the priests to walk past them.

Nanao yelped as she felt something hard pinch her bottom. She looked ruefully at the group of young acolytes and noticed one seemed to be holding back laughter.

"Another relative of yours?"

Kyōraku thoughtfully rubbed his chin and watched the boy walk away. "Um… maybe." She glared at him.

"You _did_ say you were ready for anything!" he pointed out.

"Including pervy priests?"

"If it's a situation that involves me you can pretty well count on it."

This was logic she could not fault. They returned to the guest room and set up their futon. Nanao had wanted to take a bath but there was little chance of that now. The sun was starting to rise and Nanao was starting to fall.

"Careful," Kyōraku said as he caught her arm as she was stumbling. "Aw, Nanao-chan's so cute when she's tired from staying up drinking with the big boys."

"And I still have no idea what we're doing here. Are you purposely trying to be this mysterious?"

"Yes," he admitted. "The less you know the better."

She was stunned. He'd been coy for the past few days, but actually actively working to make sure she had no idea what was going on? That was despicable! And it was so utterly _him_!

"_Why_?"

"For your own good. If you're caught, what can you really tell anyone about what we're doing or where we are? The less you know the safer you are and the safer my family's dirty laundry."

"Do you really think I'd crack that easily?"

"Not at all, but I'd sooner not think about what you'd be put through to try to get you to open up. I'm not only talking about in the real world, Nanao-chan," he said ominously.

She glowered at him and started getting her pajamas out. "Turn!" she snapped at him.

"I don't see why you're bothering to get changed," he said but still obeyed and turned his back. "We have to be up and out of here in a few hours."

"I am changing because I hiked all day and these clothes are sweaty and dirty. I am changing because I barely slept last night in a rickety bug-infested building that might have collapsed at any moment, had to climb a mountain this morning, spent the whole evening with two drunk old men, just got my ass grabbed by a barely pubescent kid, and have to get up early tomorrow to catch a train to who knows where and supposedly attend some party and therefore for a few hours at least I want to be in my comfy pajamas!"

"Hey hey hey, _I _am not old! And you know, it's funny, but I could have sworn I did my best to convince you not to come. I'm pretty sure I mentioned one or two times that this would not be enjoyable for you."

"Most of my aggravation and annoyance so far has come from you."

"Well, there's plenty more of that to be had."

"I wasn't debating that. Meanwhile, nothing around here makes sense. Why is there a temple full of members of your family? Any why, aside from Jiji-chan, do none of them recognize or acknowledge you? Why can't you use your family name around here? Who is the 'he' that you won't do more than allude to? And where did the subject of children come from? Whose children and where are they? Not to mention, why am I here if you can't even find a way to use me and if you think I could ruin everything? You can send me home anytime you want to, so if I'm really that useless why don't you already?"

He turned around and looked sadly into her tear-filled eyes.

"Go to bed now, Nanao-chan. You've had a hard day and it's not going to get easier."

She sighed and got under her covers. Kyōraku turned off the light and then entered his own bed.

"Did it ever occur to you," he said in a low voice, "that maybe there are some things I just don't want you to know about me? That I couldn't bear to see how you'd look at me once you found them out?"

"Maybe you'll just have to trust in my good opinion of you."

"It's asking a lot, even from you."

"So is keeping me in the dark."

"Please believe me, Nanao-chan, the moment it appears I can't get out of here on my own, I will tell you everything and then leave you to make your mind up as to what you'll do. Unfortunately, that scenario's looking more and more likely, so just be patient."

She turned over and caught his eye. "And now how am I supposed to sleep?"

She woke a few hours later to see that the room was empty and her captain's belongings were missing. Panicked, she threw on a fresh set of clothing, strapped on her zampakutō, picked up her bag and ran outside. There was no sign of Kyōraku anywhere. She ran behind the temple and then finally saw him in the midst of the graveyard. She started to run up to him when she realized he was cleaning a grave. She stopped where she was and watched as he poured water over the tombstone and set to scrubbing it. He threw away the dead plants in small vases before the grave and inserted two fresh new bouquets he must have just gone down into the town to buy.

"Come here, Nanao-chan," he called without looking over at her. She approached cautiously. It was an older grave, but not as old as she would have associated with her captain's family. It hadn't been there more than a few decades, perhaps a century at most.

"This is my sister," he said softly. "Come say hello."

She cautiously approached in wonder and crouched next to her captain.

"What do you mean? Wouldn't her grave be in Soul Society?"

"She was killed down here," he said sadly. "Moreover her soul was destroyed so she can never go home. She will never be reborn again. I pay my respects when I can, but the truth is that there's no presence here hearing me. She won't become a hollow if the grave is abandoned and she won't find peace if it's attended. As she's the only one buried here it's really a waste of a tomb. I still can't help but come by whenever I'm here, though. It almost feels as if I'm taking care of her." He ran an agitated hand through his hair. Nanao felt she'd never seen him more distraught. She touched his arm and he covered her hand with his.

"What's her name?" she asked quietly.

"Kana."

"Why was she killed?"

His hand tightened around hers. "Because of pride, selfishness and stupidity," he said harshly. He stood up and grabbed his bag. "Come on, we have to get going. The next train leaves in ten minutes and it takes almost that long to walk to the station." He walked off.

Nanao couldn't help but reach a hand out to touch the cold stone. "Pleased to meet you, Kana-san," she whispered then stood to hurry after her captain.

They ran most of the way to the station, Nanao's hand in Kyōraku's to make sure they did not get separated. He knew exactly where to go and had somehow already purchased tickets, so there was no time for Nanao to peer around and find out where they were. It wasn't until they were on the train seated side by side that she could even finally start to catch her breath. Kyōraku checked the clock.

"Five minutes, I'll be right back." He dashed away before she could say anything. She started to panic when she felt the train start to roll away and he was still not back, but he soon slid in next to her and handed her a bentō he'd just run out onto the platform to buy.

"Here, that should make for a decent breakfast," he said and then started digging into his. Nanao simply sat with the boxed meal on her lap and looked out the window. After the weird eating and sleeping schedule she'd kept for the past two days her body didn't know what to feel. She meant to scan the countryside for clues as to where she was, but she ended up nodding off to sleep.

She awoke a while later from Kyōraku's gentle prodding. She opened her eyes and realized that somehow she'd ended up with her head on his lap. She instantly sat up and nearly knocked her head on his chin.

"Tai- ah, I'm so sorry!" she apologized, her face bright red.

"Don't be. I'm not complaining. Anyway, we're almost here. We'll be pulling in any minute."

"And… where is here?"

"The station, silly."

Just then she heard the conductor call out that they were coming in to Karakura station.

"Karakura?"

"I did tell you we'd be coming here."

Nanao followed him out into the middle of the busy town. It was downtown in the early afternoon and while she still had no idea what they were doing, at least she knew where they were. They did not have far to walk, at least; Kyōraku pulled Nanao into the lobby of an elegant apartment complex and took her up to an apartment apparently owned in his brother's name.

It was large and modernly furnished. Considering the old-fashioned aesthetics of the Kyōraku household, Nanao had a difficult time seeing any of her captain's family coming here and calling this place home. It was primarily one large living and kitchen space with a bathroom to the side, a toilet room by the entrance and a single bedroom at the opposite end of the living room. It was pretty but so Spartan that Nanao didn't feel particularly comfortable there. She burst out laughing.

"Is there something particularly humorous about my brother's digs?" Kyōraku asked as he started opening the curtains covering the windows lining the opposite side of the room.

"No, it's absolutely beautiful. It's just that, well, I feel like a petulant child but I think I prefer the small house we stayed in night before last."

"Ah, the bug-infested rickety one, as you called it?"

"I know, but I felt so comfortable there."

He smiled. "Me too. I like roughing it a bit. Nī-chan never did. He's hopeless when it comes to taking care of himself."

"Well who knows what I would have eaten if you hadn't been there." Reminiscing of that night put Nanao into a happy mood. It was a good memory; no matter how terrible this expedition to the real world might turn out to be, that night was something to treasure. There had been only one thing really missing.

She walked over to the bathroom and started the water.

"I am taking a bath and you are not to disturb me for the next hour, do you understand me?" she said, wagging a finger at Kyōraku.

He laughed. "Suits me. I'm going to take a nap. Make sure it's no longer than an hour, though, we have things to do."

Entering the full and steaming bath was heaven to Nanao, particularly after the past two days. What a strange couple of days it had been! Nanao wasn't sure that they had actually done that much, and she certainly hadn't learned a great deal. Still, Kyōraku-taichō seemed satisfied with the information they'd gleaned from Jiji-chan and Nanao got the feeling that tonight's party would be particularly important – perhaps even the climax of their trip. It would be good to get whatever this matter was fixed up quickly so they could return to Soul Society. Work was likely piling up and as it was Nanao didn't like the idea of leaving her division in anyone else's care, even if it was Ukitake-taichō. She felt secure in her office, whereas she had no idea what she was doing right now. Kyōraku-taichō had been right. He didn't need backup. She was just in the way and underfoot. And more than that, he didn't trust her. She remembered the previous night's conversation with dismay. He was trying to protect her by keeping her ignorant of the situation, but that just meant that he felt she was vulnerable enough to need his protection. Yes, to him she was still kawaii baby Nanao-chan.

She reached up to wipe away the tears she'd forbidden for the past several days. Mental and physical exhaustion overwhelmed her senses and she couldn't help it. When it came right down to it, she was having a very good time with her captain. It was fun. She always loved quipping with him. As lazy as he seemed at the outset, he was intellectually quite sharp and he always kept her on her toes. Theirs had seemed like such a good partnership. She was always by his side and always trying to anticipate his needs. She had felt a sense of superiority when he looked at her in gratitude. Yes, what would he do without her around? She used to ask herself that and shake her head at how helpless her captain would be. But then, when it really came down to it, Kyōraku-taichō would do as he always did. He would be sad if his Nanao-chan was no longer there, but he would adapt just fine. The paperwork would never get done, of course, but as he had already pointed out, barely anyone even looked at those forms. In one brief phrase he had wiped out her entire _raison d'être_. In essence, though, things would be exactly the same with or without her.

She thought back to when she'd first started to get to know her captain. It was all due to her predecessor, actually. In Yadōmaru-fukutaichō young Ise Nanao had found a fellow intellectual. And the vice-captain did not treat her like a mere child as everyone else did. Nanao had breezed through the shinigami academy, joined the eighth division immediately after graduation and was drafted into the newly created research institute. But she had still been very young and at the time had looked to be only half her age. She was picked on and underestimated by everyone except for her vice-captain, who allowed action and results to speak for a person's capabilities. After Yadōmaru-fukutaichō left, Nanao aspired to be just like her. In some ways she had succeeded, but in others she was still the wide-eyed child everyone ignored and patronized. She had thought Kyōraku-taichō had seen her grow up and assume her role of responsibility, but no, it seemed she was still a child to him. Was he constantly comparing her with the adjutant he'd unknowingly sent to disaster?

Nanao hated the memory of Yadōmaru Lisa with as much passion and fervor as she used to admire her. Granted, without her influence and example, Nanao would not be the person she had grown into. However, as that person was apparently not ready to assume her full responsibilities as a vice-captain and was apparently not worthy of her captain's confidences, perhaps it would have been better if Nanao had never met her previous vice-captain. This particular series of realizations stung and sent Nanao into a fresh set of tears. Kyōraku-taichō had been right about so many things: she was _not _ready, she did _not_ trust herself, she _did_ live in a shell, she apparently _was _someone who liked to be unhappy, she _was_ a difficult woman to please, and at the moment she most definitely was _not_ enjoying this mission.

However, she was still the controlled, capable and rational Ise Nanao of before and would not allow a pity party to keep her from at least attempting to be valuable to her commanding officer. She rose out of the bathtub and let the water drain. She wrapped herself in a towel and hoped her glasses would cover the puffiness around her eyes. The last thing she needed was for her captain to see she'd been crying and realize that she was indeed not ready.

She exited the bathroom and looked around for her pack. Kyōraku-taichō must have taken it into the bedroom with him. While the idea of prancing around him in her towel was not particularly appealing to Nanao, she had no choice. Luckily she could hear his loud breathing and knew he was asleep. She tiptoed around him and picked up her bag. On her way out, though, she caught sight of him and could not help but watch his peaceful, slumbering face. Of course she had seen him asleep many, many times, but there was something very unguarded about his expression she watched and pondered on. Yes, he was unguarded and honest. Everything he had told her had been his truthful and honest opinion. When she asked if he was purposely hiding details of the reason for their trip, he told her clearly and directly that he was and why. He was always truthful, even when it hurt, but that was why she could trust him implicitly. She would never have to worry about his betraying the shinigami as Aizen had. Of course, that was how Hinamori had felt. Nanao felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. Yes, she had been harsh to Hinamori-kun. Considering the gamut of emotions Kyōraku-taichō had put her through in the past few days, she realized how clearly the approval and trust of a superior officer could affect a person.

She thought back to the last time he'd played around with the schedule the day he'd taken her to his family's residence. He didn't need to resort to tricks to get her to declare her everlasting devotion to him; he'd had it from day one. She'd grown up under his eye and had looked upon him with a sort of hero worship. Granted, her idealized image of him had certainly been tempered after becoming his fukutaichō and having to bear directly with his laziness, flippancy and flirting. But then, maybe that was why she knew she did not have to worry about his defecting like Aizen had; she had no false sense of his goodness. She well understood his faults as well as his qualities. It was like Nanao had told his mother – she knew exactly who he was. There were little things she was still learning about him, but at the core Nanao knew her captain's character as intimately as was possible. It didn't surprise her when she came to the realization that the reason for this, or perhaps the result, was that she loved him. Actually, she was rather impressed that she allowed herself to admit it. She'd really known it for a while.

It was that moment that Kyōraku-taichō chose to awake. He smiled at Nanao as he stretched.

"Well this is a fine way to wake up! You're standing right in front of me and wearing practically nothing. I could swear this is a dream and you're about to hit me with a giant book at any moment."

"If I had one and if the action didn't leave me potentially exposed, I might," she agreed. She turned and left the bedroom. He followed her out into the main room.

"This is good timing. We'll have a chance to talk about tonight before getting ready for the party."

"I don't have party clothing, Taichō."

"That's all right, I figured as much. Here," he pulled out his wallet and handed her several large bills.

"I have a little bit of real world money with me, Taichō."

"Probably not enough for the type of event we're going to. Don't worry about it; think of it as a business expense. I insist, if you're not dressed right we'll have trouble getting in. Just go out and buy a nice party dress and shoes to match."

She sighed and stretched a hand out to accept his money. As her hand clamped down on the bills, though, he pulled her forward and used his free hand to tip her chin up.

"Why are your eyes bloodshot?" he asked with a frown. "Have you been crying?"

"It's nothing, Taichō. I'm just a little exhausted."

"Ah, my poor delicate Nanao-chan. What has your poor taichō been putting you through?" he fondly kissed her forehead.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary, Taichō. I should not be showing this level of weakness. I'm sorry." She started pulling away. Just then there was a knock on the door. Kyōraku yelled for the person to come in then turned back to Nanao.

"Relax, it's not a crime to be tired or to cry."

The door opened and they turned to see who it was. Nanao froze in shock as she recognized the face of her sempai, Yadōmaru Lisa.

"Well, Kyōraku, I didn't think your situation would become so desperate that you'd have to resort to paying women to be with you," she said derisively. Nanao's face turned deep red and she stamped off to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Yare yare, that wasn't very nice, Lisa-chan," he said disapprovingly.

"I'm not here to be nice. I'm here because you asked me to come. What's going on? Can't keep your family under control?"

He sighed. "Have a seat."

In the bathroom Nanao was having a great deal of difficulty keeping her emotions in check. She simultaneously wanted to burst into tears, throw up, tell off her former vice-captain, punch Kyōraku-taicho for all the frustration he put her through, and run off to Soul Society and pretend this real world mission had never happened. She sat on the floor and held her face in her hands as she furiously willed herself to calm down.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm thinking maybe if I get the story out of my system I'll be able to refocus on work. Oh well, either way we're finally starting to come to the end, but it'll be at least a few more chapters yet. At the very least you'll finally start to be able to find out a few of the answers our dear Nanao-chan has been trying to figure out. Meanwhile, the manga has started to give us some depth into both Lisa and Nanao's past, which is wonderful but a little annoyingly timed (oh if only they'd done this even a couple weeks ago!). My apologies if it turns out my guesses and suppositions fly completely in the face of the new information we're learning. For now I've still been able to integrate this new material without completely opposing the back story I already created (actually I think it's helped it along). Meanwhile, enjoy and, as ever, please let me know what you think :o).**

Chapter 11: A Few Answers

Nanao took deep breaths and watched herself in the mirror. She seemed to have gotten control of herself. She had a technique of identifying each emotion and finding the root cause for it. She was upset – why? She was upset in part because she was still emotionally raw from before and because she was suddenly confronted with her predecessor. Why was that a bad thing? Because Nanao felt threatened by Yadōmaru; she did not like the idea of there being another eighth division fukutaichō who was better or more efficient than Nanao was. And why was that?

Nanao closed her eyes and went through and broke down every single emotion and its root cause. It required extreme honesty on her part, but in the end she had perfect control over her emotions rather than letting them run rampant through her. It was a tried and true technique, and one she had to grudgingly admit was taught to her by the woman sitting with her captain in the other room.

She straightened her shirt, swept her hair back, washed her face and repositioned her glasses. Yes, Nanao was in charge of herself again and did not look the worse for her near breakdown. In fact, aside from the fact that her clothing was wrinkled from having been carried in a backpack for the past few days, there was nothing out of the ordinary about her appearance.

She emerged from the bathroom and walked over to join her captain and her former vice-captain. Yadōmaru gave her a brief, curious look, but other than that did not acknowledge her presence. As for Kyōraku, he did not make an issue out of the fact, but concern was clearly on his face as he watched Nanao walk towards them.

"Nanao-chan, since you're already up, could you go get the magazine in my bag in the bedroom?" he asked quietly. Yadōmaru's face shot up and she stared at Nanao.

"_Nanao-chan_?"

"Yes, Taichō," Nanao replied coolly then turned to go complete her captain's request. She heard Yadōmaru walk over and hit Kyōraku-taichō.

"What have you done to her?" she demanded.

"_Done_ to her? Nothing! Nanao-chan, what have I done to you?"

"Do you want the full list or only the most recent offenses?" she said in the same steely tone. "Is this the one you wanted, Taichō?"

"Yes, thank you. As you can see, Lisa-chan, Nanao-chan has inherited the dubious honor of keeping after me and she does a remarkably good job of it. Even you would be impressed with her paperwork skills."

"You made _Nanao-chan_ your fukutaichō? Of all the idiotic… how could you do that?"

"Calm down. Nanao earned it all on her own. She's the most qualified in the squad and I can hardly imagine anyone doing any better than she does."

"Have you at least straightened yourself out a bit?"

Kyōraku scratched his chin and thought. "Ummm, no, I don't think so really. Nanao-chan still has to get me up in time for meetings and trainings and sometimes put me to bed after a good night out. She does the vast majority of the paperwork and more than infrequently has to chase me down to make sure I take care of those things she can't do. She also confiscates my sake when I've been a bad taichō and refuses to let me kiss her. It's not that much different from what you had to put up with."

Yadōmaru glared at him. "Of all the… I didn't think you were quite capable of that. She's a _child_, Kyōraku!"

"Not anymore, even you can see that Lisa-chan."

"She's not up to the challenges of being a fukutaichō."

"She's learning."

"Anytime you might like _my_ input, please let me know," Nanao piped up sardonically.

Kyōraku sighed. "Sorry, Nanao-chan. Why don't you go out shopping and I'll catch Lisa-chan up to speed?"

"I'd really like to hear what to expect for tonight."

"What is this anyway?" Yadōmaru asked, opening the magazine Kyōraku had handed to her.

"Um, nothing really, just a little memento from Soul Society," he said, his face turning slightly pink.

"This is the best you could do?"

"Well, Nī-chan had to pick it out."

"Say no more." She went back to flipping through it.

"Taichō, is that… what I think it is?" Nanao asked disgustedly.

"Yes," he admitted in a sad tone, "and unfortunately not very anatomically correct either."

"You _read _it?"

"Well, there's not much _reading_ to be done with that sort of thing, but yes, I glanced at it to see if it would be up to Lisa-chan's standards. I think I left it around to see if you wanted to give it a look through, to be fair."

"You let _Nanao-chan_ near this?" Yadōmaru screeched.

"I am not a child!" Nanao snapped.

"It's still not appropriate for you!"

"I could say the same thing for you!"

"There's nothing wrong with it! I have a curious mind, that's all. That doesn't mean that this is something that you should be around!"

"Isn't that the same as admitting there _is_ something wrong about it?"

Kyōraku shrank further and further back into the couch cushions as he watched the two women scream in each other's faces right before him. He supposed he should break it up, but attempting to do so would only invite their combined wrath on him.

"Listen, I am not a child anymore. I do not need either you or Kyōraku-taichō watching over my shoulder to protect me from big, bad monsters. I am far more capable than either of you have ever given me credit for. Do not look at me and expect me to be the same weakling child who used to come and beg you to read with her and explain what the big words meant!"

"I spent more time looking out for you than you will ever know. I just don't like to think all my hard work was ruined in the course of a century by this oaf!" Yadōmaru said, pointing at Kyōraku.

"Don't overestimate your importance! That _oaf_ has been the only consistent thing in my life since I joined the Gotei 13! He may be a bit of a mess and a nuisance, but I owe him everything!"

"Ladies…" Kyōraku said tentatively.

"_What_?" They both snapped, turning to look at him. He gulped at their vehemence.

"I don't think we really have the time for this. Nanao-chan, the shops will be closing soon and if you don't have the right attire I'll have to leave you behind. I promise I will catch you up to speed when you get back."

"But only so much as you're willing to let me know?" she asked, her arms crossed.

"For now," he admitted.

"Well at least you're showing _some_ intelligence," Yadōmaru snorted, flopping into an armchair. "I can't believe you got her involved in this mess of yours. Come to that, I'm surprised you got me helping you out too."

"Can I count on you then?"

"You bring me a second-rate hentai manga and expect me to coo all over you? Yeah I'll help you, but only because I want to and I don't like the alternative." She looked meaningfully at Nanao.

"Splendid, I'll be right back." He took Nanao's arm and propelled her into the hallway outside the apartment. "I'm sorry, Nanao-chan. I had a feeling that might be an emotional encounter. I wanted to tell you she might be coming on board, but I didn't know if she would until now. I need her help, though."

"You really didn't need me. You already had backup in mind but you couldn't tell Yamamoto-Genryūsai." Her voice was heavy with emotion and she looked away from him.

"Hush, enough of that. I'm very happy you're around. I need Lisa because she's already involved. She helped me the first time the problem arose. Meanwhile she's been on the ground in Karakura for a long time and I need her insight and expertise. Now go, get something absolutely gorgeous and be back here within an hour, okay?"

Nanao nodded. He smiled and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. She turned to go.

"Oh, and Nanao-chan?" She turned back. "If I really didn't think you could help me, you would not be here. Understood?"

She nodded again and this time felt a little relieved. Her mind was still a little distracted by the time she got to the closest dress shop, though, and the store clerk more than took advantage of that.

"What is the event you are shopping for?"

"I… I don't know. A party."

"Well, is it casual or formal?"

"Formal, I think."

"Black tie or white?"

"I have no idea."

"Hrm… well why don't we go with cocktail then?"

Nanao simply nodded vaguely. Luckily the woman had a good eye, not only for color and fit but also for the bills grasped tightly in Nanao's hand. Poor Kyōraku-taichō would not be seeing much change for his cash, but Nanao decided not to feel guilty about that. She figured he more than owed her at this point, and after the way she saw how his family lived in this world and the next she realized he'd probably not even notice the slight deficit in his pocket money. Nanao walked dazedly back to the apartment, her dress bag folded over one arm and the bag with her shoes hanging over the other. She had forgotten to buy jewelry, but it didn't matter; as it was she had no money left. Kyōraku-taichō hadn't given her _that_ much and Nanao assumed the people she'd be surrounded by would be able to identify costume jewelry in a moment. Simple was preferable then.

She was not surprised to see both Kyōraku and Yadōmaru still talking when she got back. The shop woman had been _very_ efficient. Nanao had only been gone a little over a half hour. She deposited her purchases on the table and directed her attention at Kyōraku.

"You, in there, now," she said firmly, indicating her head towards the bathroom.

"Nanao-chan, Lisa-chan and I weren't finished with our conversation yet."

"You'll finish later. It's nearly dusk and you have three days' worth of grime you need to wash off. I can smell you from here. Go."

He looked over at Yadōmaru, sighed and stood up. "All right, but only because my Nanao-chan asked me to!" He walked over to the bathroom then stopped at the doorway. "Play nice!" he added.

Yadōmaru stood and approached Nanao. Nanao couldn't blame her for watching her so closely. In a way it must have been like seeing a little sister you'd always imagined as a child suddenly sprout into adulthood in front of your eyes. For the most part, Nanao felt her former fukutaichō looked largely the same, if a little younger. But then, the childish sailor-style uniform she wore probably had something to do with that.

"I'm sorry, Nanao-chan."

"Actually I don't like anyone calling me that. Taichō's incorrigible and ignores me when I tell him to stop, but I'll at least allow it from him. If you call me that again, I won't respond."

"Very well, _Ise-fukutaichō_, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you at first and then, well, I got angry because… it just didn't look very good when I walked in. I thought he'd corrupted the innocent child I'd known."

"I don't know what sort of relationship you had with Kyōraku-taichō, but just because I am now his fukutaichō does not mean that I've replaced you in all respects." Nanao picked up her dress and carried it to the bedroom. Yadōmaru followed her.

"We did not have that sort of relationship. He always teased and flirted with me, but I'm not exactly his type. He likes his women to be strong but a little less direct than I am. Kyōraku's the king of insinuation; I'll just come out and say it. It used to embarrass him, actually."

"That's nice. Meanwhile, shouldn't you be getting ready for this party yourself? Or was there a seafaring theme I wasn't aware of?"

Yadōmaru paused before speaking again.

"I'm sorry I left you when I did, Ise, but I had no choice."

"Of course not. It was not your fault whatsoever. I bear you no ill will, Yadōmaru-sempai, but those days are over. Now, please leave so I can get changed."

"I don't want my old job back, if that's what you're thinking."

Nanao paused. She supposed that this particular fear had been on her mind.

"I don't want the oaf back either if you're worried about that. I still feel a loyalty and a duty to him for old time's sake, but he's not my taichō anymore. And, as much as he's relying on me to help him out with this little difficulty, I'm not his fukutaichō. He doesn't see me that way. I'm not a threat to you, Ise."

Nanao paused for a moment while her predecessor's words sank in and then returned to busying herself with getting her new dress out of its bag.

"Of course not. Please leave now."

Yadōmaru sighed and walked towards the door. "He's really protective of you, you know," she turned back to say. "He yelled at me as soon as you were gone, and I don't mean he scolded me, I mean he yelled. It was very unlike him. He'd never yell at someone on my behalf if he thought they'd upset me."

"Of course not," Nanao replied quietly. "He'd assume you could take care of yourself."

"I get why you're frustrated. It's not easy to be the baby of the squad and to try to push off that persona. I'm guessing he and I are the only two from the eighth who still remember you that way. But even so, let him be take care of you for a while. It's been a long time since he had someone who needed him." With that she left. A moment later Nanao heard the apartment door close behind her.

She stood frozen in her thoughts for another few minutes then shook her head and finished extracting her dress and hanging it in the closet. She wouldn't get ready just yet. She heard Kyōraku emerge from the bathroom a few minutes later.

"Are you already done?" she called over to him. "Are you sure you actually stepped into the water?"

"Believe it or not, even _I_ have been known to make efficient use of time when need be."

She turned to see him in the doorway, a towel around his waist and another around his long hair. She blushed and looked away. He laughed at her.

"How could Lisa-chan honestly believe I could corrupt our little Nanao-chan? It's not necessarily from a lack of trying, merely that kawaii Nanao-chan's as pure as snow. Ne, Na-na-o-chan?" At this point he was leaning over with his face right in front of hers.

"Enough! Let me out of here so you can get dressed." She pushed him away and retreated through the open doorway.

"Are you sure you don't want to give me a hand?" he called after her teasingly. She waved him off. "Oh, and Nanao-chan? Could you order delivery? There are some menus on top of the refrigerator."

She found the menus but knew what absolutely none of this stuff was. More than that, it required the use of a telephone, something she'd never operated before.

"Taichō! I don't know what any of this is!" she called to him. He came out shirtless, but at least he'd taken the time to put slacks on. Nanao decided to ignore his topless state but still struggled to keep her color from rising.

"Um, here, this one's Japanese food. We'll definitely have to work on expanding your international palate in the future, but for now we'll just stick with what you know." He called and ordered half a dozen different dishes then returned to the bedroom to finish dressing.

"Did Lisa-chan leave?"

"Yes."

"What did you say to her?"

"Nothing in particular," Nanao replied innocently. She approached the doorway and watched him struggling to button his cuff. "I'm sorry. You still needed to talk to her and I think I may have sort of chased her away."

"Lisa-chan knows what she's about. We covered enough that we should be fine for tonight."

"Are you upset with the way I acted?"

"Jūshirō once gave me an extremely insightful piece of advice. He told me to never get involved in girl fights. To the best of my ability I have tried to abide by that philosophy." He continued working on the button. "Nanao-chaaaan," he whined and held out his wrist. She walked over and buttoned his cuffs for him.

"I'm not sure why you're bothering," she said. "You'll have your sleeves rolled to your elbow long before the night is done."

"Right you are, but I at least need to look halfway respectable so I can get past the front door."

"Is there any reason they wouldn't let you in?"

"Well I'm sure having you by my side will assuage any doubts as to our reputability."

"Are we crashing this party?"

"No, well, not exactly. I'm sure if my father knew I was in town we'd be on the list."

She paused and looked at him.

"Your father?"

"Blast you and interrogation methods. You got me again."

"This has something to do with your father?"

"Well I _did _tell you it was a family problem and seeing as you've met my entire family minus my father there weren't really many options left, now were there?"

"Is he the problem?"

"He's always been a problem," he grumbled.

"Does he have something to do with your sister's death?"

"Ah, the doorbell! Food's here!" He darted away leaving Nanao to follow him.

"So, if you are letting people know you are your father's son, is it all right if I at least refer to you as Kyōraku-san?"

"I prefer 'anata,'" he said, setting out the food on the counter.

"That's not happening."

"Yes, yes, Kyōraku-san's fine my little prudish one. Now grab whatever you want and come over to the couch."

"Wouldn't the table be better to eat at?"

"Maybe, but since you won't let me have a couch I want to sit here." He watched as she piled up a plate and came to sit by him. "By the way, don't think I don't know you had it thrown into the middle of the pond. I'm just waiting for it to get that nice fishy odor before having it brought back in."

"It'll be gone again the next day."

"Yes, but in the meanwhile won't it be nice and wet and stinky?"

"Perhaps I should just have it relocated to your quarters."

"No way! The moisture would ruin the tatami and make my clothing get all mildewy."

"Then maybe we should leave it at the bottom of the pond."

"Whoever says you're defenseless has another thing coming to them," he grumbled.

"Does Yadōmaru-san think I'm defenseless?"

"She may have suggested something to that effect."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I was too busy laughing. I think she got the message that I didn't entirely agree, though."

"Aren't you supposed to be giving me a severely abridged account of what I need to know for tonight?"

"I was enjoying our witty repartee. Eat up, we can talk after dinner."

"You mean about the time that you'll be saying we'll be late if we don't leave immediately?"

"You know I never care about being on time."

"Except when it's convenient for getting out of something you don't want to discuss."

"Touché. Meanwhile, eat. You haven't eaten since last night. We'll talk later."

"I'm not hungry."

"Then you're staying here tonight."

"Then I'm following you."

"Then I'll stay here tonight too."

"Taichō!"

"Eat."

She complied and once he saw her take a few bites he started talking.

"Well, as you know my father, brother and Lisa-chan will be there in addition to the two of us. There will be a lot of other people, but those are the only ones to pay attention to."

"What's the party for?"

"It's my father's company party. He's a specialist in mergers and acquisitions – all that cutthroat stuff."

"Why is he in Karakura then? Wouldn't Tokyo or Osaka be a better location for that sort of business?"

"That's a reasonable question. That's part of why I think Nī-chan might possibly be on to something in thinking he might be trying to take advantage of some of the trouble we've had in Soul Society. There's been too much interest in Karakura as of late for all of this to be coincidental."

"How long has he had this business here?"

"Not very long, maybe only about twenty years. He's been in the real world a lot longer, though. He was head abbot of the temple we were in yesterday. The agreement was that he'd stay there. Not that hard, you'd think. He came down right when the rules changed to allow priests to marry and eat meat and drink alcohol and all that, so it's not like he had a terrible life here. But no, that wasn't enough for him. Even taking on multiple wives and girlfriends didn't satisfy him."

"The children you mentioned?"

"My various half brothers and sisters and their descendants. Jiji-chan was instructed to keep an eye on my father as well as the numerous children he spawned. My father never seemed to take much notice of any kids but Nī-chan and occasionally me, but if he's up to his old tricks then I figured he might be scouting out any of his progeny that might have inherited some of his spiritual prowess. Luckily he never had that much to begin with."

"How does Jiji-chan keep track of them all?"

"He's actually managed to convince almost all of them to stay in that town and many to join the temple where they're right under his nose. He has a few different mind altering tricks and devices up his sleeves. That's how no one ever noticed that he and my father were living there for an abnormally long period of time."

"They didn't become human?"

"Not exactly. Part of our agreement to convince my father to come quietly was that we would find a way to preserve his long life. I'm thinking we shouldn't have held to that part of the bargain, though; we would have saved ourselves so much trouble."

"Why is he here in the first place?"

"That's something I'm not going to tell you if I can possibly help it."

"And your sister?"

"That too. But yes, it's his fault she was killed. Anyway, that's enough back history for you. Finish eating. We need to get ready and get out of here."


	12. Chapter 12

**Ta-da! We finally meet the father; I actually had no intention of including him when I wrote the chapter about Kyōraku's family. However, a few people expressed an interest in meeting him, so I had to figure out how to pull him in while still explaining why Yoshitsune was the clan leader. What emerged is the main storyline. See what happens when you review? Not everything's revealed quite yet, but you might start to see where this is headed.**

Chapter 12: The Party

Nanao struggled with her dress zipper as she pondered over her captain's words. Finally some things were starting to make sense, only the bigger questions still remained: what _was_ the problem they were here to try to avoid? How did this relate to Aizen? Did it at all? What was the significance of being in Karakura? Why had the father been exiled, as it now seemed he had been, in the first place? What was Kyōraku-taichō so ashamed of? How did his sister fit into all of this?

At the very least some things were starting to make sense. All those names Jiji-chan had mentioned to her captain must have been the various children. That was why her taichō knew who they were. However, the ones who did not know of their parentage seemed to be the children themselves, hence none of them recognizing Kyōraku and his reluctance to go by his family name until he knew his father was not in contact with any of them. Nanao felt stupid for not having connected the pieces together sooner, but then she really had not been given enough insight to know how each piece of information was important. She didn't even know his sister was somehow related to all of this until he admitted that his father had somehow been responsible for her death. But how? And why had her soul been destroyed in such a horrible way? Was it something she or her father had done? Was there another reason entirely?

The only thing that was starting to become clear to Nanao was that this was a situation that went a bit beyond a simple family embarrassment. If it was as severe as the hints she'd been receiving suggested, it was more than possible that her captain was involved in a significant cover up – and sooner or later Nanao would have to decide where her loyalties lay. Perhaps it was for the best that he had not given her too much incriminating information. Thus far, she had not knowingly done anything wrong. But then, if it was as terrible as he seemed to believe would she still help him once she knew? Is that why he wasn't telling her? Did he think she would purposely spoil his plans? She thought back to their conversation a few nights back after Hinamori's breakdown. Kyōraku-taichō had asked Nanao what she really wanted. She responded that she wanted to go to bed each night with the knowledge she had nothing to be ashamed of. He'd seemed to approve at the time, but is that why he objected to her going with him? Did he think that she would either end up turning him in or helping him commit something that she would end up regretting? For the first time in the past three days, Nanao started to put stock into his dire warnings. How completely wrong she had been. She was not ready for this.

At the very least, she was not ready to figure out the fashions of the real world. How was a person supposed to zip up a strapless dress by herself? It was nearly impossible.

"Taichō!" she called out. He had the door open a moment later.

"What's the matter? What happened?"

"I can't zip up my dress," she admitted. He paused for a moment to take her in. He'd wondered what sort of dress she would pick out. He assumed something dark and disappointingly sedated. He had not expected the persuasiveness of a pushy sales clerk looking to make a sale. Nanao was wearing a calf-length yellow strapless gown with a wide cranberry-colored sash across her waist. It suited her proportions and coloring perfectly, but it was far more festive a frock than he had ever imagined she would buy. He was never quite so happy to be wrong before.

"What's wrong?" she frowned as she noticed he was not making a move to help her.

"What?" he said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Could you zip me up?" she turned her back to him. He swallowed and stepped forward to zip the last few centimeters she had not been able to reach.

"Thank you. Is it all right? Is it the right style for the occasion?"

"It's beautiful, Nanao-chan, and you're very beautiful in it."

She nodded her head satisfactorily. "Good. Do you mind if I use the bathroom mirror? I need to put my hair up."

"Go ahead."

He watched as she walked across the apartment. He thought he had never seen anything quite so adorable as Nanao-chan in a party dress running around in bare feet with her hair loose about her shoulders.

"I have to go down to the lobby for a moment, I'll be right back."

By the time he returned Nanao had finished pulling her hair back into a French twist. It was similar to her usual style only the ends were tucked away and rolled back. It made her look at least a little older than she did while her hair was loose. Not knowing what to expect, she had luckily brought some of the makeup Matsumoto had given her over the course of many recent trips to the real world. It wasn't much but at least she felt a little more suitable for the occasion. Kyōraku appeared in the mirror behind her. He leaned over to kiss the joint between her neck and shoulder. Nanao froze in shock. A moment later he clipped a necklace of several twisted strings of small seed pearls around her neck.

"There you are. Now you look perfect."

"Where did these come from?"

"Safe behind the front counter. They belonged to Kana, but since neither my brother nor I are particularly into wearing pearls we just left them down there so they wouldn't get lost. He won't mind your wearing them tonight."

"Thank you, but it doesn't seem right somehow."

"Think of it as part of your costume. You're playing a special role tonight, and these help fill out your character."

"What is my role then?"

"Well, we'll figure it out as we go along. Anyway, let's get going, there's a car coming around even now."

She nodded, slipped into her shoes and attached the buckle around the ankle then followed him out of the apartment. She'd forgotten to buy any sort of jacket or wrap, but it was a pleasantly warm night out. She almost felt like she'd prefer going for a walk to going to a party, but at the same time Nanao was in duty mode and ready for the night's events. She swept past the door Kyōraku was holding open for her and stepped into the waiting car. She'd only been in one of these things a few times in her life and wasn't completely comfortable in them. Still, the seats were soft and it seemed very sleek and nice. Her captain settled in next to her and told the driver to go.

"I thought of hiring a limo and really arriving in style, but I figured a town car was a little less pretentious, wouldn't you say?"

"Mm," she said in agreement even though she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Ne, Nanao-chan," he ventured slowly, "I'm probably being annoyingly overprotective here, but, if for whatever reason you're asked to go off anywhere with my father, don't do it."

"Am I going to be meeting your father?"

"Not if I can help it. I don't know how we're going to work it out, but, well, just don't go anywhere unless it's with Lisa-chan, my brother or me."

She waited to respond until they arrived at their destination and were exiting the car.

"Kyōraku-tai… san, please don't worry about me. I'm not entirely without protection," she said meaningfully.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her bare shoulders and arms.

"Where?" he asked quietly.

"Around my leg."

"That's my girl," he chuckled and offered her his arm to escort her in.

"Why are we going to a party anyway?"

"It's the only place I know we'll be able to catch my father where he can't entirely run off. But_ I_ am going to deal with him and you are not, understood?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Keep your eyes open. Look for anything out of the ordinary or even just anything that seems noteworthy. My attention is going to be diverted for most of the night, so I need you to observe on my behalf."

"Understood." She felt relieved at this assignment; it perfectly suited her abilities and finally made her feel useful.

It turned out Kyōraku didn't need to worry about getting past the front door; his brother had already taken care of the list, although Nanao noted with interest that she was simply listed as "and guest." She noticed Yadōmaru-sempai right away standing in a corner with the same tight braids and almost fierce expression she'd had that afternoon. However, the sailor suit was exchanged in favor of a bright red minidress. She did not exactly blend in, but then Nanao was starting to get the feeling that maybe that wasn't her purpose. She assumed from her captain's warnings that his father had a wandering eye, and since both Kyōraku and Yadōmaru apparently were still under the impression that "Nanao-chan" needed to be protected, Nanao wondered if Yadōmaru was purposely trying to set herself out as bait. They caught each other's eye and then Yadōmaru quickly shifted her eyes to look across the room. Nanao followed suit and saw her captain's older brother standing and speaking with a large group of men. He was wearing a tuxedo, as was appropriate for the occasion, but his hair was still in his customary topknot.

"He tells people he's a samurai reenactor," Kyōraku chuckled in his ear. "They stop asking questions after that. I think he should just adjust his gigai so it has a full head of hair, but Nī-chan's just stubborn like that."

"Speaking of being stubborn, are you going to tell me why you said there'd only be two other people I'd recognize here?"

"I didn't; I just said they would be here and not to pay attention to the others. Although I suppose if you're going to be observing for me you can watch them a little."

"You're not going to tell me why there are a few of our 'acquaintances' here and why every single person has a noticeable amount of spirit energy?"

"Nope. In part because I'm not sure I've entirely figured that part out myself yet."

Nanao sighed and scanned the room. There was Soifon-taichō looking a little uneasy in such a social environment. And while she didn't feel him, Nanao wouldn't be surprised if Kurotsuchi-taichō was somewhere nearby, blending in as only he knew how. Approaching them now was Ukitake-taichō.

"What's happening?" Kyōraku asked under his breath.

"We've got to move faster than we'd originally thought."

"When?"

"Tomorrow latest. That's when we think he's making his move."

"What about Oyaji?"

"You're going to have to settle your business with your father tonight. We need to know just how involved he is or isn't before we seal the town."

Kyōraku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's an awfully tight time frame. Have you told Nī-chan?"

"I gave him a few of the basic details. I don't think we have anything to worry about from him, though. He mostly seems anxious about avoiding a scandal."

"Sounds about right."

"Did you meet up with your uncle?"

"Yeah. He swears the children are uninvolved, but he's lying when he says he knew nothing about Baba's coming here. I have a pretty good idea why, though."

"What about the boy?" Ukitake asked then gasped as Kyōraku elbowed him sharply in the side and gave him a sharp look. "Did it have to be in the ribs? Couldn't you have just stepped on my foot or something?"

"Sorry," he murmured in reply. Nanao watched as his eyes focused on something across the room and grew hard. He then glanced over at his brother and caught his eye. "Do me a favor, Jū. Keep an eye on Nanao." He headed over to the far side of the room. It looked like the Kyōraku brothers were intending to capture their father using a pincher attack.

Nanao turned back to Ukitake-taichō and smiled as she took his arm. "Sorry about that; he's been a little stressed lately. Do you need to sit down?"

He smiled back and shook his head. "No thank you, Ise-san. It didn't hurt very much. Why does he want me to keep an eye on you?"

"Apparently you're my babysitter. Can you tell me what's happening and why you're here?"

"A few of us were sent down for a particular mission that might or might not be related. I knew Shunsui would be here and I thought this would be an appropriate location to meet up. Plus, if his fears have any foundation, he might need our help."

Nanao glanced towards the front of the room. She could make out her taichō and his brother but could barely see the slightly smaller man they were talking to. Was that the father? Or perhaps someone they needed to go through first? Or maybe a fellow ally? Whoever it was, he was not someone for Nanao to worry about. Her primary focus was watching the room. She might not have as much insight into the situation as Ukitake-taichō apparently did, but undoubtedly she knew more than Soifon-taichō and whoever else might be around. She made her rounds slowly with Ukitake at her side. After about the course of an hour she had made very few observations. The first was that the Kyōraku brothers had disappeared from view, no doubt to meet with their father and attempt to complete whatever business it was they had ahead of them. Yadōmaru also seemed to have gone elsewhere, but then she undoubtedly had her own orders. Nanao decided to focus on the people she didn't know rather than trying to find the ones she did.

"Who are these people?" she asked Ukitake under her breath.

"Employees I suppose."

"Impossible. This is no ordinary company party."

"Perhaps it is best to keep your observations to yourself for now, Ise-san."

She caught his eye and nodded. They risked too much by being overhead. She tightened her scrutiny. It was a very full room but while everyone present did have a noticeable reiatsu, their levels were not particularly high nor did they themselves appear aware of their spirit presence. She could feel faint traces of the Kurosaki boy, particularly around the younger people, but not to the same level as his closest friends. But then, they were all in Hueco Mundo at the moment rescuing one of their friends so it made sense that they were not present. These must be people only mildly acquainted with him, such as schoolmates or maybe neighbors. They must have absorbed some of his spiritual powers but not enough to make any use of them. She did not know about the adults, though. In some ways a few people had reiatsu similar to Kyōraku-taichō – were these some of his half-siblings perhaps?

Just then a waiter came up and bowed before them.

"Pardon the intrusion, but are you Ise-sama?"

"Yes," she replied hesitantly and looked up at Ukitake-taichō. He also seemed a bit tense.

"Kyōraku-sama has requested your presence."

"Kyōraku?"

The waiter smiled knowingly. "Kyōraku _Shunsui_. He wanted me to make sure I mentioned that. He also said for Ukitake-sama not to worry."

She looked up at Ukitake for advice. He frowned as he thought over the situation.

"Go ahead, Ise-san," he finally replied. "I'm sure it's nothing. There's an art gallery upstairs and Shunsui probably found a painting or sculpture he wanted you to see."

"I believe that was the situation," the waiter agreed. She nodded hesitantly and followed the waiter out of the large party room and into a dark hallway. They climbed a set of stairs and landed in what was indeed a spacious, if unlit, art gallery. The waiter led her to an open set of doors where light was pouring forth. He ushered Nanao inside and promptly shut the doors.

She looked straight ahead and was not particularly surprised to see that it was not her taichō at all sitting in an opulent red leather chair behind a large mahogany desk. This whole business had the air of a setup from the beginning, but there was nothing she could do without raising suspicions. She trusted in Ukitake's instincts to realize that's what it was too. At the very least she really hoped he understood that. Meanwhile, she had to figure out what to do now that she was trapped in a small room with her captain's father.

"Ah, Ise-san, isn't it?" he cried happily with a broad grin. "I'm sorry about the deception, but I had no idea what things Shunsui might have told you and I really needed the chance to speak with you in private. Please, please sit down. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"Have you?" she said with a polite smile and she walked forward and seated herself on the couch lining the side of the small office. What was it with the Kyōraku men and needing to have couches in their offices?

"The woman who puts up with my youngest son? Absolutely. I've heard a little bit about you already, you see, and when I saw you come in with Shunsui I knew it must be you."

"You've heard about me? From Kyōraku-tai… no, from Kyōraku Yoshitsune-san, wasn't it?"

He laughed jovially. "You guessed it! Shunsui is not very open about his personal life. He wouldn't even tell the family when Yadōmaru-san left him to come to the real world. It wasn't until I saw her here in Karakura that I realized he must have a new vice-captain."

"May I ask what your son told you about me? I haven't met him more than a couple times so I'm curious what he could have thought to say to you."

"Ah, yes, a reasonable question. Well, he told me that you'd somehow managed, wonder of wonders, to convince Shunsui to go home for a visit. He also said that you seemed to have a positive influence over him, which I was very relieved to hear. Shunsui needs a firm but sympathetic hand. He acts like he is very carefree, but the truth is that my son is a highly sensitive man. He needs someone strong and capable to keep him focused and in line or else I think he would dither about the 'wrongs' in his life."

"That's not entirely the impression I have of him."

"Perhaps not. Shunsui is very good at presenting different images of himself depending on the person or situation. I'm sure if you think back you'll notice that for yourself. He has a tendency to overreact, I'm sad to say. When Yoshi told me Shunsui was coming tonight and bringing a guest, well, I was hoping that finally this sad estrangement could be put to rest. A father in his old age wants nothing more than for his only children to be happy and close by."

"I was under the impression that you had many children close by actually."

He looked puzzled for a moment and then a light suddenly seemed to dawn. "You mean my brother's children? He probably referred to himself as 'Jiji-chan,' didn't he? Yes, he has quite a few children scattered around that temple. Does Shunsui actually believe they're mine? Oh dear, this whole business is more complicated than I thought! If you wouldn't mind, Ise-san, would you mind letting me know what other things my son may have told you? I'm not trying to come between you and Shunsui of course; I know you must have a very close relationship and I'm sure you trust your taichō implicitly, but I think Shunsui may have gotten some very wrong information somewhere down the road. This whole misunderstanding could be straightened up so very quickly if he would just _tell _me what he thinks the problem is and then just give me the chance to explain myself."

"Actually, Kyōraku-san, I can honestly tell you that I know _nothing_ about this situation whatsoever." She'd never been so relieved to be so ignorant.

"Nothing? I don't believe that. You probably know more than you think. He must have told you about his sister at least; those are her pearls around your neck. You're obviously someone very important to him and he would have told you about her."

"It seemed like she had a rather unfortunate death."

He sighed bitterly and nodded his head. "That she did. It's a father's worst nightmare to see his own child killed, particularly one as good as Kana. We all loved her so much, but then she was so easy to love. Shunsui may have felt her death the most, I believe. He needed someone to blame and, well, since he and I have never been very close, I became the automatic scapegoat. I'm sure you can understand how grief can cloud the senses like that."

"I suppose it can sometimes. But I honestly don't know anything. As you say, your son is a rather private man about his personal life."

He sighed. "If only the boy would trust those people closest to him! Forgive me, Ise-san, or I suppose I should say 'Ise-fukutaichō' and give you the honor of your rank, but would you mind if I included you into our little family drama? I know this is an unfair burden, but since I'm sure you and I both have Shunsui's best interests at heart perhaps you could reach through to him where I cannot. I won't press anything on you, of course, but if you would do me the honor of hearing me out, I would greatly appreciate it."

Nanao paused and looked thoughtfully at the older man. There was so much of her taichō in him. They had the same color hair and beard. His face was a little squarer than either of his sons, but there was the same nose and the same twinkle in his eyes. For all Nanao could tell about the man, he could be perfectly right and there _had_ been misunderstanding piled upon misunderstanding. He at least was willing to tell her what this business was that she'd somehow gotten mixed up into. Maybe she could hear his side and then her captain's and decide for herself where the truth of the matter lay. In some ways it would be the fairer thing; so far all she'd heard was a very meager account of her taichō's point of view. She could listen to the older man and even disregard everything he said if it struck her as untrue. There was nothing dishonest about his countenance and aside from a little uneasiness she felt given her captain's warnings, she felt very at ease in his presence.

However, as she thought about it, Nanao realized that it wasn't her responsibility to find out where the "truth" lay. This family debacle, which she'd admittedly pushed herself into, didn't involve her. The only thing that involved her was her captain. If he had a reason to mistrust his father, then that was enough for her. Her loyalties were to him, not to trying to discern a truth that might never be resolved.

"You are right about at least one thing, Kyōraku-san. I do trust my taichō implicitly. If all of this is the result of a misunderstanding, then I trust he will be able to discover that for himself. Other than that, I have no intention of becoming involved in his personal affairs."

"Now, please just hear me out, Ise-san," he entreated, reaching forward to grasp her hand. She did not get to hear the rest of his plea, though, for just then the doors crashed open. She knew before she looked up who would be there.

"Do not _touch_ her, Oyaji!"

Nanao looked over at her captain. She had never seen him so livid. She had no idea who the bulk of his anger was directed at though, his father or her.


	13. Chapter 13

**How appropriate that we finally get some answers in chapter 13? Yes! Here we have the fight between Shunsui and his father AND Shunsui finally opens up to Nanao about the shameful secret. Some other stuff happens too. The story's not over yet, but this is an important chapter so I pushed through to get it done. I thought about waiting a bit longer to post it, but I'm very very curious to see what people will think about "the secret." I hope it's worth the suspense!**

Chapter 13: Judgment

"Now, Shunsui, I know you're angry, but-"

"You had better believe I'm angry! _This_ is why you had Nī-chan and me sent halfway across town?" He reached down to grasp Nanao's hand and roughly pulled her behind him.

"Yes. You won't listen to reason, so I thought someone else close to you would."

"Don't you dare try to turn her against me." His eyes blazed as he stared down his father.

"_Against_ you? Not at all. I'm sure Ise-fukutaichō wants the best for you, the same as I do."

"Ise… who tol-… Nī-chan?"

"Your brother has been so good as to keep me up to date with your life since you've pretty well eliminated all contact with me. Is it so wrong for a father to be interested in what his son is doing and whom he works with?" There was a slightly snide tone to his voice.

"So you wheedled information out of him to use against me? You can't just appreciate how much I've done for you and the morals I sacrificed to stupidly keep you safe? You have to keep trying to find new ways to take advantage of your son who happens to be a captain in the Gotei 13?"

"You always were a dramatic one, Shunsui. Why must you insist on blowing everything out of proportion?"

"Why do you insist on using your children as your shields?" Kyōraku replied in a dark tone.

"Kana's death was a tragedy-"

"One you could have prevented!"

"Not really. The die had been cast, so to speak. If it hadn't been for Kana's accepting the blame we all would have been killed – yourself included. Who knows, maybe even your pretty fukutaichō as well."

"Nanao's never had anything to do with this."

"But who knows that? How could someone who spends most of her time with her captain have no idea of his perhaps less than legal affairs? It would not be hard to find her guilty by association."

"No one is at fault but you, Oyaji!"

"You are not blameless, Shunsui!" he snapped back. Nanao felt her captain's hand tighten around hers.

"No," he agreed through gritted teeth.

"That's right. When it comes down to it, family is all that matters."

"Kana mattered."

"Yes, she did. Do you know, I was very surprised to see Ise-fukutaichō wearing her necklace. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Do not forget whose glorified hands have touched it, Shunsui! It is not meant for just _any_ woman to wear!"

"Kana was any woman! She simply had the misfortune to be your daughter and to catch the eye of someone who wasn't worthy of her!"

"_Worthy _of her? Could you possibly imagine anyone _more_ worthy? Sometimes I feel she's the only child who ever did anything right!"

"You mean the one who did whatever you told her to?"

"As is a child's duty to her parent. If you and your brother had done as I'd asked initially everything would have worked out and Kana would still be alive!"

"Well lucky for you there are plenty of other children to experiment with. Or are they simply fodder for Aizen's arsenal?"

"You almost sound jealous, Shunsui."

"I am jealous. You've never given any of your earthly children a second thought. I wish you'd shown Nī-chan, Kana and me the same courtesy!"

"That's most unkind, Shunsui. I care very much for both you and Yoshitsune. And you _know_ I loved Kana! Everything I've ever tried to do was always for you."

"If you want to do something for us, tell me what you're up to. If you try this again, Nī-chan and I will suffer for it. You won't win. You'll get nothing from Aizen. He'll only use you."

"Aizen… do you know, that name sounds so familiar. Wasn't he a captain, one of your colleagues? Has something happened to him?"

"Time to go, Nanao," Kyōraku said quietly and pulled her out of the office.

"You're not winning this one, Shunsui! You know your only chance is to stand beside me now! Tomorrow will be too late!" the elder Kyōraku called after them.

Nanao and her captain ran down the stairs where Ukitake-taichō stood waiting for them.

"Is it as you thought?"

"More or less. He's more of a trusting fool than I took him for."

"What now?"

"Clear the room. Get every single person out of here. I need time to think and then I'll get back to you. We'll begin preparations at midnight."

Ukitake nodded and headed for the closest fire alarm. Nanao heard its shrill shriek as she and Kyōraku exited the building. He hailed a cab and pushed her gently in. He seemed a little less angry but Nanao also knew he was sorting through a thousand pieces of information. He only said one thing to her on the way back to the apartment.

"Make a note in the schedule when we're finally back in the office, Nanao-chan. From now on family reunions are absolutely out of the question."

The moment they entered the apartment he headed straight for the liquor cabinet. Nanao wasn't entirely sure what the brown liquid in the glass bottle was but considering the gusto with which Kyōraku polished off three glasses she had a feeling it was probably potent stuff, just not necessarily potent enough.

"Lisa-chan was right," he murmured as he poured a fourth glass. "I shouldn't have let you come. I definitely shouldn't have let you out of my sight."

"I knew it wasn't you asking for me, but I thought refusing to go would raise suspicion. At least you knew I was armed and I hoped Ukitake-taichō would let you know what happened, so I thought perhaps it would be all right to go along with it for the moment."

"No, Nanao-chan, you did everything right. Jū sent Lisa-chan out to get me straight away and waited where he could run in if you needed him. I should have taken into better account how Oyaji would try to use you to get to me. You've been so on edge lately and I'm not helping anything by only hinting at things here and there but not actually telling you anything. Then Lisa had to come and be such an idiot and upset you even more! I couldn't risk losing your trust, but it seemed like everything was working against me."

"That's why you won't tell me what the problem is. You think I won't trust you anymore."

"It's a definite possibility. At the very least I wouldn't be surprised if it gave you a moment's doubt. You deserve it, but I couldn't afford your having doubts at the crux of the moment. Unfortunately, by not knowing the truth it only left you open to my father's manipulations. He's really good isn't he? As crafty as they come. He's not very intelligent and thankfully doesn't have a remarkable amount of spiritual power, but he's enormously crafty."

"Is he working with Aizen?"

"He probably thinks he is. Aizen seems to have gotten him to do a little legwork, but I don't think he's all that important a player. He's just an ambitious fool who thinks he's gotten a second chance at greatness."

"All those people?"

"Sacrifices. Aizen needs 100,000 souls from Karakura town? How convenient that my father's assorted maybe a couple hundred with some spiritual power. What a great offering. It's definitely a good start to Aizen's collection, don't you think?"

"That's what Ukitake-taichō was talking about, wasn't he?"

He gulped down another glass and made a face. "This stuff's awful. Nī-chan's got to develop some taste when it comes to alcohol. Anyway, yes, it seems things are coming to a head in Hueco Mundo. It looked likely even before we left for the real world."

"Are you going to be caught in the crossfire?" she asked softly.

He grimaced, and Nanao didn't think it was from the drink's bitter flavor. "I don't know. Maybe. I might be a casualty of my father's stupidity, but if so I've long deserved what's coming to me. Nothing will probably happen to me until the Aizen problem is over. Although, who knows, Yama-ji might decide he's had enough of my antics behind his back. I've got to come clean to him sometime, and when I do that might be the end of the handsome Kyōraku-taichō."

"You're father's right about one thing; you do have a flair for the dramatic," she said flatly. "Who else is here besides Ukitake-taichō and Soifon-taichō? I thought Kurotsuchi-taichō might be hiding somewhere nearby."

"He'd be good to have around right now, given what we've got to do tomorrow. Byakuya too. He would have been the most comfortable one in the room; well, at least until he realized that no one else was in the same class as him. But no, they're about to be dispatched to Hueco Mundo along with Zaraki and Retsu-sempai."

"_What_?"

"Ah, I guess I forgot to tell you. I think I assumed you'd learn it on your own. I keep forgetting about that difference between you and Lisa-chan; you actually respect privacy. Lisa-chan couldn't. If it weren't for the fact that Jūshirō sent her to notify the other Vizard about what's about to happen I'd swear she was outside the door listening in right now. That's part of the reason I had to include her in the issue with Oyaji. She would have tackled me to the ground and held my arms behind my back till I gave in and told her what was going on."

"Is that what a girl has to do to get a straight answer out of you?" Nanao replied sardonically, her arms crossed. He grinned mischievously at her.

"Not really. I've been known to be awfully responsive to an endearing smile and a 'pretty please, taichō?'"

"Yes, well, barring that?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want me to know."

"Really? You're not going to use whatever Oyaji told you against me and demand I explain myself?"

"He didn't tell me very much, just his opinion about you which I didn't really agree with anyway."

"He didn't offer to explain what this big mysterious secret is?"

"He offered. I turned him down. You have your reasons. You haven't let me down so far, so I figure I'll just wait till you want to tell me. If that day never comes, so be it."

He gaped at her.

"You broke in before he could have told me anything anyway," she admitted.

He burst out laughing.

"Why is that funny?" she glowered at him. She had been expecting a far more appreciative response.

"I don't know, it just is! I finally come to the realization that it's not fair to ask for your help like this and that I should tell you everything, and you've come to the decision that it's not important if you know or not. Well, if that's the case-"

"Tell me!" she demanded.

"I don't know, Nanao-chan, you said it didn't matter."

"I did not! I said 'so be it.' It matters! Tell me!"

He grinned and started pouring himself another glass. "Well, I don't know if I want to now." He was cut short by Nanao coming up behind him, pinning his arm behind his back and forcing him to the ground.

"Am I going to get a straight answer out of you now?"

He twisted his wrist suddenly and managed to get her lying next to him as he leaned over her.

"I always knew you had it in you, but I wasn't sure if the day would ever come that you'd actually manhandle me, Nanao-chan." He looked delightfully proud.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" she asked quietly.

He released her hand and rolled onto his back with a sigh.

"Yes, I'll tell you. Oyaji's right. My keeping you unaware won't protect you if it gets out. Your being my adjutant is enough to determine your guilt."

"I know that, Taichō. I've known that all along, and I am prepared to face the consequences," she said softly.

"I need a drink."

"You've already had a lot."

"I want more."

"Taichō."

"All right, all right. Fine. I'm just trying to figure out where to start. Well, I told you my father's crafty and that he probably sees Aizen as a second chance at achieving greatness. You once said that your father was disgusted by those who'd inherited their prestige and didn't earn it themselves, right? He had a point. We all have ambition and drive in us. For some like your father the benefit of knowing he earned everything he has is enough. Some are just content with their lot in life. My father isn't. He was the head of one of the noblest families in Seireitei. But he'd done nothing to deserve that except for being born first. It wasn't enough. He wanted more. He didn't want to be king, but he wouldn't mind being regent. And he had one extremely valuable tool in his arsenal."

"Kana-san," Nanao whispered.

"Exactly. She was lovely, kind and, best of all, extremely obedient. She couldn't bear the idea of disappointing anyone. And my father, the manipulative bastard that he is, took advantage of that. 'Well, Kana dear, I only want your happiness, of course, but… no, nevermind. You made up your mind. You go ahead, dear. You do what you want to do. I'll just stay here and keep to myself. I just pray it works out.'" He imitated the same soft, coaxing tone Nanao had heard his father use just a little while before.

"The poor girl didn't know what to think," he said with a sigh. "She didn't trust her own opinions. All she'd have to hear was one sigh from Oyaji and she'd capitulate."

"Whose eye did she catch?" Nanao asked.

"Everyone's it seemed. He never admitted it to me, but I'm positive Jūshirō fell for her too."

"Did she like him?"

"Who knows? She certainly didn't. She couldn't afford to have independent thought. She was desperate for my father's approval and he withheld it from her. He doted upon her, of course. He did love my sister, I won't deny him that. And she adored him. She'd do anything not to hear that sigh of disappointment. Poor Jū never had a chance. He's from a noble family, but not nearly noble enough. But then, even Byakuya wouldn't have been good enough for what my father wanted."

"The king?"

"Yes, he saw her and wanted her, as my father hoped he would. Kana became one of his consorts. He liked her very much, which is lucky. And unlucky too I guess, considering the outcome."

"The necklace?"

He smiled and turned his head to look at her. "You are a sharp one, aren't you? Yes, the necklace was a present from the king. Another present was making my father an honored advisor. Kana gave birth to a son. My father was elated. It seemed like everything was fitting into place. His daughter was a favored wife of the king and had given birth to a young baby who might well end up as king, particularly with his papa's advanced age. If that happened, who better to guide and essentially control the infantile young king than his wise and powerful maternal grandfather?"

"What went wrong?"

"My father was too confident in his plan. The king died under 'mysterious circumstances' one day during a boar race."

"A _what_?"

"Never ask about the habits of bored, rich people, Nanao-chan. It'll never make sense. Boar riding was a fad in those days. No one remembers it now of course and they make fun of the Shiba boy for doing it, but someone in his family probably taught him how. The Shiba clan was still one of the noblest families in those days. They were some of the best boar riders too, actually. But anyway, boar riding is dangerous as well as stupid, and the king wasn't the youngest of men anymore. So, it wasn't all that surprising that he died in that circumstance. Quite the tragedy. My father grieved with all the other advisors. What he didn't realize was that the king had already named an heir long before he met Kana. After all, Kana's was hardly the first of his sons."

"So he planned a coup?"

"Yes. He gathered together some of my kinsmen and the most loyal of his vassals. The planning did not go very far, luckily. Jiji-chan is the one who uncovered it. It involved the murder of not only the young heir but every single one of the dead king's children minus Kana's."

Nanao looked at him, aghast.

"My father left Nī-chan and me out of it at first, for which I'm not certain if I'm grateful to him or not. On the one hand, I didn't have to make the difficult choice of betraying my father. On the other, if I'd known and if I'd quashed it in time maybe this whole mess could have been avoided. As it was, Jiji-chan is the one who told us. Well, me at least. To be honest, I've never been able to fully determine how much Nī-chan really knew or didn't know. Perhaps I'm being unfair, but in my family you learn not to trust anyone. That was when my father asked us to help him. We could still carry out the plan, he said. Jiji-chan would have to be done away with, unfortunately, but we could still carry it off. Imagine, our sister the dowager queen and our nephew the king."

"What did you do?" Nanao asked in a small voice.

"I turned on my heel and went to tell Yama-ji. Nī-chan stopped me. He agreed with me that we absolutely had to stop my father's plan, but that we could do it ourselves. If I told Yama-ji then the entire clan would be ruined, not only our family but also all those dependent on ours. My career would be absolutely finished. You can imagine how much I actually cared about _that_, but Nī-chan made the point that he and I could do more good in our elevated positions than we could inside a prison cell suffering for a plot we had nothing to do with. Not to mention, Kana would suffer too – maybe more than we would. After all Oyaji had already done to the poor girl I couldn't imagine what would be in store for a young woman accused of the attempted murder of her husband's children. There was no way she could be left out of the punishment. Who would believe she was innocent? My brother swore he would be a better clan leader than my father. He would restore honor to the Kyōraku name. I could stay in the Gotei 13 and preserve peace in my own way. Why should the sons suffer for the sins of the father? And, wouldn't you believe it, Nanao-chan, I let myself be won over? I'm as bad as Tōsen if you think about it. The end justifies the means, even if the means involve deceit. Peace means nothing if you're ashamed of the way you attained it," he said bitterly.

"So we struck a bargain with Oyaji and Jiji-chan, who, by the way, agreed with my brother. For the greater good this was the better choice. No one aside from us three knew what my father had done, at least not until I selfishly brought in Jūshirō and Lisa-chan. They helped me carry out my father's exile as well as that of his followers. Jiji-chan and I worked on an elaborate defense system to keep them in the temple. In the human world their short lives ran out soon enough anyway. The only two who didn't die were Jiji-chan and my father. We threw every luxury we could at him to keep him content, but we were idiots and didn't take into consideration my father's competitive and ambitious nature. He didn't want to have things _given_ to him, he wanted to _take _them by his own guile and cunning. I was already so disgusted by him and what I'd participated in that I swore off ever having anything to do with him again. If my role in the cover up came out, well so be it. I'd sooner die by sōkyoku's fiery wrath than help him again. Of course, if I'd still had an eye on him, I might have prevented the most tragic part of it all."

"What happened?"

His voice grew quiet. "Not very long ago it came about that the old king's death wasn't quite so accidental after all. There was reason to suspect murder. Certain evidence seemed to point to my family. Well, for as much as anyone in the royal guard knew, my father had succumbed to a sudden illness about the same time as the king's death. And they'd found him so charming and so devoted to the king it couldn't possibly be him. Who else was there? Me? An honorable and well-respected captain in the Gotei 13? My brother, an equally honorable, well-respected and incredibly well liked clan leader? Kana? Ah, Kana. Kana had been one of his wives. Come to that, hadn't she given birth about that time? She'd been a lower consort but the king had been favoring her more and more ever since she joined his harem. Had she gotten ambitious for her son's sake? She had motive and she had opportunity. What she lacked was reputation. They would never dare accuse my brother or me for the outcry it would have caused. Without the king around Kana had lost her favored status. She was nothing more than the mother of one of the king's several children. That was it. She was expendable. More than that, she had an interesting habit of coming down to the real world fairly often, leaving her vulnerable. Little did anyone know that she was coming to visit my father. The sentence was remarkably swift, as was the punishment. It was top secret. After all, she had two very powerful brothers who might interfere and keep 'justice' from being served. She was caught unawares just outside the temple grounds. She probably understood exactly what had happened and maybe even what my father had done. She admitted to everything, even though of all of us she was the only one who had _nothing_ to do with the plot or the cover up. The official report said that she begged for an instantaneous death so she might spare her family and her son grave dishonor. Her wish was granted."

"How awful!"

"Regicide is a horrible crime, Nanao. A simple death isn't nearly punishment enough. The royal guard was given permission to use a soul extermination technique. Nobody knew until after the fact. I was horrified. I wanted to confess, but Nī-chan told me not to. He said if I did then Kana's sacrifice would have been in vain. He also pointed out everyone else who would suffer. Obviously my father would be killed immediately, but I wasn't about to lose any sleep over that. But Jiji-chan would be too. And so would Nī-chan. And Ka-chan. And me. And the rest of my clan. And Kana's son. And Lisa-chan. And Jūshirō. And you. And likely much of the eighth. And maybe even the thirteenth. The enormity of the crime and the cover up was such that the deaths of the perpetrators themselves wouldn't be adequate to clearly demonstrate how serious this was. Once word would get out the conspiracy would grow. So I gave in, again, because I knew he was right. I think I'd give anything to go back to the day Jiji-chan told me what my father was planning to do. I had no idea he'd killed the king. If I'd so much as suspected it, I would have turned him no matter what my brother said. But as far as I knew he was guilty of nothing more than a horrible plan that, well, maybe he didn't even _really_ mean to carry out. Surely bad intentions weren't worth the destruction of so many lives, I felt. I justified it to myself that way. It was deceitful and underhanded, but surely it was for the best. If I'd just told someone they could have investigated the king's death _then_ and come to the realization of who the true murderer was. That action alone would have probably spared the lives of everyone else."

They were both still lying on the floor but Nanao could barely move from shock of what he'd just told her. He turned to look sadly into her eyes.

"So, Nanao-chan. What do you think of your taichō now, particularly now that you realize how perilous your very existence is thanks to him?"

She took her time in answering and carefully thought over his confession.

"I knew from the day I joined the eighth that my life was in your hands. Nothing has changed."

He smiled sadly and shook his head. "Can you really look at me with your strong sense of right and wrong and tell me you don't think that what I've participated in is horrible?"

"No," she admitted. "You were taken advantage of, but I don't know if there was a right solution to be had. It's true that if you had refused to take part in the cover up none of this would have happened. But it's also true that if you hadn't done what you did, many people could have suffered. It's impossible to know what would have happened if you had made a different choice that day."

He looked searchingly at her face. "Out of everything it was your judgment I most craved and feared."

She paused before replying.

"Despite what you've told me, despite what you've done, I still see you as the most honorable man I've ever known," she said quietly.

He grasped her face between his hands and kissed her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Apologies for taking so long to write this up and upload it! I was debating just how I wanted to open the chapter and where precisely to take it. Plus I had to do some real work :oP. Anyway, for those who might be interested in the role of regents in Japanese history I heartily recommend looking up the Fujiwara family - they're just plain awesome :o). That's where I got the inspiration for "the plot" from. For those who commented on the fact that the king had multiple wives, this is a pretty consistent theme in East Asian history. Since Bleach tends to pull in a lot of traditional Japanese themes, I thought I'd preserve it. However, the show's creators are probably not going to add in that particular aspect of Japanese history. Meanwhile, I'm not remarking on whether it's a good or bad thing, but I thought I'd bring it in since it makes for a fun storyline :o)**

**Also, even though there's a note in the summary that there are spoilers here, I'm adding this warning again - if you don't know what is happening in the manga just before it switched to the "pendulum" arc, certain parts of this chapter won't make sense and/or they will ruin the suspense of Aizen's intentions. Oh, and please review :o)**

Chapter 14: Baba and the Prince

Kyōraku pulled back and ran a hand over his face.

"Yare yare, Nanao-chan," he said quietly. "I think the real world's getting to me."

"Not enough down time lately, Taichō?" Nanao asked with a sarcastic smirk.

"Not by half." He agreed.

"I think you've been more active in the past three days than I've seen you in previous few decades."

"Your sympathy is endearing."

"Don't think I'm going to let you off easy when we're back in Soul Society. Now that I know you have it in you to climb a mountain and outdrink a monk all in the same day, I'll be making use of that energy on a more regular basis."

"Actually I think you'll find the two activities often accompany each other."

"Then you have _years_ of mountain climbing to make up for. Starting Monday."

"Oi, Nanao-chan, I can't just produce vigor and vim on command. It takes years to store up for this sort of expenditure, you know."

"We'll see about that."

"What did I ever do to deserve the likes of you?" he complained.

"I could say the same."

He grinned at her. "Well whatever it was, it must have been something pretty incredible."

"For which one of us?"

"Both. We're a pair, Nanao-chan. What would we do without each other?"

"Yes, who would button your cuffs and zip up my dress?" she remarked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"Does that mean I can unzip it too?"

Her face shot around to look down at him. It was a typical remark from him, but given what had just happened, there was added implication there. He noticed it too and the typical smirk was lacking as he again covered his face with his hand. They'd been doing well in pretending the kiss had not happened, but now it was suddenly back to the forefront of their minds. There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Kyōraku stood and held out a hand to Nanao. She wordlessly took it and he helped her up.

"What do we do now?" she finally asked quietly.

"Now we watch TV!" He leaped over the back of the couch and pushed himself against the armrest. Nanao noticed that the hand holding the remote was trembling slightly. She came around and settled herself on the opposite side.

"May I ask you a question, Taichō?"

He thought for a moment. "No."

"No?"

"That sounded perilously like a question!"

"Not at all. I was simply repeating what you said."

"No questions!" He started furiously flipping through the channels. "Ah, news! News is good and boring."

"And this will help us prepare for whatever is happening at midnight."

"Is that a question?"

"A statement, merely my thinking aloud at my captain's interesting approach to work. We have some sort of mission occurring at in about an hour and the obvious course of action to prepare for it apparently is to turn on the TV. It's genius, really."

"Nobody likes a nag, Nanao-chan," he grumbled.

She was about to retort when suddenly he scowled, stood up and ran out of the apartment. Nanao looked at the television and saw the story being reported was about a building on fire. She coolly walked to the bedroom to grab the bag her captain's swords were in, put her shoes on, grabbed his, then calmly left the apartment and pushed the button for the elevator. It was luckily only a floor or two away and she arrived in the lobby just as he finished running down the stairs.

"Stop!" she commanded as he started to rush past her. She pointed him towards a chair and gave him his shoes and bag. "What was that about not being able to call forth vigor and vim on command?"

"You mother me more than Kā-chan," he grumbled.

"Well we can't have you rushing off to a burning inferno in your stocking feet, now can we?" she chided. "Who's there anyway?"

"It's Oyaji's place. That's too much of a coincidence."

"You're rushing off to save him?" This was an unexpected bit of filial piety considering what he'd just told her.

"Not on your life," he growled as he grabbed her hand and rushed them out of the building. As they ran through Karakura's streets at night, Nanao wondered why they didn't change into their shinigami forms and shunpo. But then she could not easily register the spiritual presences of captains Soifon or Ukitake, so therefore they must also be in gigai form. There must be some sort of reason to remain in these human bodies. Once again, she supposed she would simply have to trust her captain. Still, at the very least you would think they could call for a cab.

Kyōraku weaved in and out of pedestrian traffic as Nanao struggled to keep up. As they neared the blazing building the crowds were thicker and it was harder for her to keep her captain in sight. Still, the flames acted as a beacon against the dark sky and directed Nanao to where she needed to go. She searched among the strangers but could not find Kyōraku. A few people looked at her with interest; it was no often people came out to watch a calamity like this in fancy dress. Mostly, though, everyone's attention was on the fire. She heard a couple people ask if there were any casualties, but it seemed no one knew what had happened nor if there had been anyone inside. Nanao heard a commotion coming from the far side of the crowd. She was little surprised to see that the outcries were coming from the direction of a broad back that happened to match her captain's in size and frame. However, the cries she heard were feminine and shrill.

"Who is that? Shunsui? About time! What are you doing? Put me down! Down down down! Stop it!"

Nanao edged around to see her captain embracing a tiny old lady who on her feet would probably stand barely higher than his waist. She was wearing a lovely light blue kimono that was unfortunately having to endure her abuse as she kicked and pounded her fists against Kyōraku, who for his part seemed completely unaffected by this clear objection to his sign of affection. He settled the little woman on the ground. She huffed in indignation but then was once again unsettled as he reached forward to scratch his stubbly beard against her cheek.

"What was the point of putting all that time and effort into you if you were just going to turn into a hooligan?" she screeched and beat him soundly on the arm. He grinned happily and turned to Nanao.

"This is my Baba. Baba, meet Nanao-chan."

"What sort of introduction is that?" Baba asked, hitting him again. "And stand up straight. I hate the way you slouch about. People would think you're just a good for nothing. Maybe that's all you are. Taking this long to come and see your Baba! I have half a mind not to tell you anything!"

This scolding appeared to have no effect whatsoever on the object of Baba's wrath. Kyōraku just kept grinning cheekily.

"Baba's my nanny," he explained to Nanao. For her part Nanao felt immediate sympathy for both the little lady and for her captain. They appeared to be quite a match.

"But really, Baba," he said, turning back to the still flustered old woman, "did you have to set Oyaji's place on fire to get my attention?"

"Aha! So you _did_ keep track of him after he left the temple! I knew I shouldn't believe you when you kept insisting you'd washed your hands of this whole business."

"He's too dangerous to completely ignore."

"Glad to see you have some sense, although not nearly enough. What sort of standards does Seireitei have if _this_ is the sort of captain they're producing these days?"

"Now, now, Baba," he attempted soothingly.

"You there! Young lady! You look like you have at least half a bit of common sense. Are you the most recent female Shunsui's conned into taking care of him and doing all his work?"

"Yes," Nanao replied testily. Baba reached over and hit her arm soundly.

"Then what have you been doing?" she screeched. "What took him so long to get down here?"

"Now, Baba," Kyōraku said in a stern voice. "We don't hit. We especially don't hit Nanao-chan. We like Nanao-chan. Believe me, we do not want to upset Nanao-chan. She _is _a lot of fun when we try her patience, though," he grinned.

"I have no use for people who can't keep their tempers," Baba said grumpily as she started hobbling away. She turned around to both of them. "Well?" she demanded. They followed.

"Am I allowed to ask questions again?" Nanao asked under her breath.

"If I say 'no' will that actually stop you?" He whispered back.

"Probably not."

"Then why not. I'll just say 'yes' so we can pretend I still have vestiges of some command here."

"Where is your father?"

"Probably not in that building."

"What about your brother?"

"Good question. Baba?" He raised his voice. "Where's Nī-chan?"

"How should I know? Can't you keep track of your own brother? Seems you two always knew where the other was and wouldn't let _me_ know when I was trying to get you boys ready for something."

"Baba, that was many, many years ago. We were just being stupid little boys. Now it would probably be a very good idea for me to know where Nī-chan and Oyaji are."

"_Now_ you want to be cooperative." She threw her arms up in exasperation. "I don't know where your father ran off to. Yoshitsune was going to wait for us but I sent him to check on something."

"Or someone?" he asked suggestively. She turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. She stopped in front of a yakitori shop and sharply jerked her head towards the entrance.

"In here."

They entered the tiny restaurant. There was only room for a narrow counter and six stools before it. The cook stood behind the counter cooking up various chicken parts on the grill before him. Nanao looked around at the various scraps of paper posted about the room, all of them advertising sticks of grilled chicken cartilage, skin, white or dark meat, mixed with green onion, or with a variety of sauces or salt rubs. They fluttered in reaction to the small metal fan right behind the chef. The tiny shop was suffocatingly small and hot from the charcoal fire. After all the running she'd done and the humidity of the late summer night, Nanao felt her hair and dress sticking to her. Baba pulled herself up onto one of the stools.

"Sit!" she commanded. They obeyed.

"Is this where we're supposed to meet someone?" Nanao whispered to Kyōraku.

"No, I think she's just hungry. Baba always did have a soft spot for yakitori."

That did seem to be the case. She ordered several skewers of various types of grilled chicken. Kyōraku did the same and Nanao abstained, knowing she would probably be eating half of what her captain ordered under his direction. The three sat in silence as they ate. Finally Nanao could not help but look at the clock and start to become nervous.

"Taichō, it'll soon be midnight when you're supposed to meet Ukitake-taichō."

"I know, Nanao. Don't worry. We'll be on time. There's just something we have to clear up here first."

"Well then shouldn't we do that and move on?"

"We will, but we should wait for Baba to finish eating. She's unbearably cranky when she's hungry."

Apparently the biddy also had pretty good hearing, as she glared and them and muttered away at "young people's impudence." She finally finished and turned to them.

"So. You noticed him, then." This was most definitely not a question.

"We stopped by to see Jiji-chan before coming here. Funnily enough, he insisted he didn't know you were down here."

"I told him to say that."

"I figured as much."

"You can never know who to trust."

"Baba! That cuts me to the core!"

She gave him a sour look. "Oh, I can _trust_ you in that I know you'll be a good boy and do the right thing – _eventually_. But can I trust you to do what you need to do _when_ you need to do it?"

"Well I hope so!" he cried out in mock indignation. "I always do what I have to do by the time it has to be done... more or less."

Nanao held back a snort.

Baba clacked her tongue and shook her head. "You're a remarkably decent boy, Shunsui. You understand people, usually much better than they'd like you to. But your problem is that you don't always look beyond what a person is capable of to see what they've actually done."

"That's usually because people have a remarkable tendency to do exactly what it is they're capable of," he responded dryly. "That's what's so disappointing about them. There's just no spontaneity."

"You also don't always trust your intuition about people."

"Baba, you surprise me. All my life you tell me not to judge people without getting to know them, and now you insist I should."

"Don't be daft," she snapped. "What I'm saying is when you get a feeling for who a person is, don't disregard that even when you hear they've done something you didn't think them capable of – especially when it comes to people you do know well," she said meaningfully. He looked over and caught her eye.

"Yare yare," he said softly.

"Don't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind."

"More than a few times, particularly as of late. He gave me no reason to doubt, though."

"Would you have believed him if he had?"

Kyōraku thought for a moment. "Probably not."

She nodded affirmatively. "He's a terrible person, but not worse than you initially thought."

He ran a hand over his face and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I did start to wonder, particularly after seeing Jiji-chan."

"He didn't tell you anything, did he?"

"No, I saw for myself."

"… You saw him?"

"Actually, it was all due to Nanao-chan's lovely posterior."

"What?" Nanao snapped. She glowered at Baba as the older woman peered around to have a look for herself.

"You'll have to explain a bit better," Baba remarked.

"Wait a moment," Nanao interjected. Things suddenly started to click together. "Are you saying that that _kid_-"

"I think you called him a 'pervy priest.'"

"Yes, _him_. You don't mean he's…?"

"My royal nephew. Yes, precisely. Well done, Nanao-chan. See, Baba? Isn't she sharp? The hiding spells were top-notch, but if he hadn't made a point of pinching my adjutant I wouldn't have taken notice of him. I saw immediately he was Kana's son. What do you think, Nanao-chan? How does it feel to have been felt up by royalty?"

"Like I still want to kick his teeth in," she glowered.

"It seems my family members have that effect on you," he agreed. "Now Baba, I think I have an idea of what is happening, but for the sake of complete clarity, do you want to explain why you brought him down here?"

"For his own protection, Shunsui," she stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Yoshitsune was so wrapped up in being clan leader I couldn't really rely on him. And _you_, who should have figured it all out, were so consumed in pitying yourself for losing Kana and blaming your father for his role that you didn't take the time to really investigate what truly happened."

"So it was a separate plot against Kana and her son," he said sadly.

"That's right. It was unrelated to your father's scheme. You jumped to the conclusion that the king's murder and your father's selfish and cruel plot were connected. I don't blame you; everyone who knew thought the same thing. But then I thought about it; Kana's son was still a baby when the king died. Your father would have wanted to wait a while longer to make sure the boy would be able to live at least to his teenage years before making the move to bump off the king and establish his grandson as the next sovereign. Not to mention, your father would never make the mistake of killing the king before making sure that not only Kana's son would succeed, but also that he himself was in an advantageous enough position to become regent. It was far too soon. The king's death at that moment was counteractive to your father's plans."

"That's what I thought when it first happened and when I heard of his plot," he said.

"I know. You told me that. I remembered it. I thought 'if Shunsui doesn't feel his father had a hand in the king's death, that probably means he didn't.' You see, _I_ put more faith in your intuition than you did! That isn't to say that he _wouldn't_ have killed the king if the opportunity arose and if his preparations were set, and I think you knew that too. But when the evidence was revealed that the king _had _been murdered, in light of the type of man your father was as well as his treacherous actions immediately following the king's death, you and your brother and Jiji-chan and even I thought that he must have killed him."

"You're right, Baba. For all that Oyaji quite probably _would_ have done away with the king if things were settled the way he wanted them, the time was still premature when it actually happened," he mused.

"So, your father _didn't_ kill the king?" Nanao asked.

"No, I think Baba's right. I did wonder about that, but I was so disgusted with him I didn't give the matter much thought," he admitted sadly.

"That's right!" she smacked his arm. "Your father wasn't the only ambitious person at court! The king favored Kana. If that continued, she could easily replace the empress and her son could have become the heir. The baby was heavily watched to prevent such a plot. It was too hard to do away with him. But the king… he was vulnerable during the boar races. How easy would it be to rush over to him after he'd been thrown from his mount, quickly drug him and say he was seriously injured? Then, when no one was watching, kill him and blame what was really a most entertaining sport that was quite unfairly outlawed after that."

"When did you figure this out?"

"I've been piecing this together over the past few years. Three years ago was when I realized that doing away with Kana wouldn't remove the real threat, which was her son. I worked my way in among the palace staff until I could gain access to the boy. I explained to him who I was and the truth behind his mother's death, including your father's role. I brought him down to the temple under Jiji-chan's watch and went to go stay with your father. I figured if anything would snap you out of your stupor _that_ might do it and I could depend on you to finally do your duty and figure out who ordered your sister killed!"

He looked at her for a moment then embraced her closely. "Thank you, Baba." Instead of hitting him as she had done the last time he hugged her she merely smiled fondly at him and patted his shoulder. "There's a good boy. Anyway, Yoshitsune's bringing him here now."

"What?" he looked at her in horror.

"Well, now that you know, I thought you could take him to Soul Society and keep an eye on him. I'm sure it won't take you more than a day or two to figure out this whole plot and Kana can be avenged."

He hid his face in his hands. Nanao noted that he seemed to be doing this a lot this night.

"Oh, Baba. You always seem to forget this other life and this job that I have. I can't take him with me now. I have work to do. The temple is the safest place for him."

"The safest place is with _you_."

"Normally? Yes, maybe. Right now? No, not at all. No matter what he can't be within the Karakura town borders past midnight."

"We're here, Baba!" Yoshitsune cried as he walked through the door with a shy but curious young man behind him. Kyōraku groaned and covered his face again.

"Taichō, we have less than ten minutes," Nanao said nervously.

"Of course we do," he commented dryly, throwing his arms up. "Because nothing can be simple. Nī-chan, where did Oyaji go?"

"He said he had to meet someone and ran off. That's not his place on fire, is it?"

"Yes. Baba here thought it was time to redecorate and decided start from the ground up."

"Well, it got your attention didn't it?" she snapped.

"Then, where should we go?" Yoshitsune asked, starting to sit down.

"Away from here!" The younger Kyōraku remarked, taking hold of his brother's shoulder and steering him outside of the restaurant. "Baba, you go with these two and go to the temple. There's something I have to take care of here in Karakura. I'll meet up with you all and guide you back to Soul Society once it's safe."

"Taichō, I think it's fair to say that at this point the temple's no longer secure," Nanao pointed out. He frowned at her and turned back to his family.

"Wait here." He pulled Nanao away. "Explain."

"Your father is looking for a way to restore his reputation and prestige in Soul Society, if not become even greater, right?"

"That's right."

"And Aizen has something to do with it, right?"

"Right."

"Didn't he tell Ukitake-taichō he wanted to sit on the throne as a god himself?"

"Something to that effect."

"And you somewhat filled me in that Aizen needs Karakura to make a key to the palace itself, theoretically to replace the king?"

"Oh. I see what you mean."

"Your nephew stands in his way."

"And if Aizen's convinced Oyaji to help him, he might not realize the danger the boy is in."

"For all we know Aizen may have told your father that he is willing to help place Kana's son on the throne."

"That is a definite possibility. However, he probably doesn't know the boy is no longer in the palace."

"How long would it take for him to deduce that he's at the temple?"

"It's the most likely place to take him and hide him," he agreed.

"We have five minutes, Taichō. What do we do?"

"We can't have them sealed in Karakura." He sighed deeply. "Guess there's no choice."

"Good news everyone!" He cried, turning around to the three. "You all get to come with us and help us do some fun shinigami work. There are only two requirements. One: You do whatever Nanao-chan or I say with no questions asked and no hesitation, and two: You don't get underfoot."

"And three: you don't tell anyone," Nanao added. She looked warily at the young prince. He was not particularly attractive. He simply seemed like an awkward teenage boy with large eyes that kept ogling her. In that aspect alone did he appear to have anything in common with either of his uncles.

"Well why should we stay here?" Baba cried sharply. "Why don't we go to Soul Society?"

"There are some things we have to do here, Baba," Kyōraku stated testily. He whipped his head around as he heard Nanao draw forth her zampakutō from where it had been strapped around her thigh. It was now pointed at the young prince's throat.

"I don't particularly care _who_ your father was. Your wandering hands stay by your sides, understood?" she vehemently stated. The boy blinked in terror and surprise as his eyes darted between Nanao's and Kyōraku's faces.

"How dare you treat me in this manner?" he squeaked breathily. His eyes were still full of panic but he was clearly attempting to pull together some degree of authority.

"Oi, Itakeru-kun, come over here," his younger uncle called. The boy pouted at this informal use of his given name, but he was more than happy to take the opportunity to get away from the clearly irritated Nanao. Kyōraku-taichō threw an arm over the young man's shoulders.

"I know we've never met, but as an uncle to a nephew, here is a bit of advice. You need to learn how to read a woman before you try to put your hands all over her. With someone like Nanao-chan, don't attempt it unless you're strong enough to take whatever punishment she's likely to dole out."

"You might apply that suggestion to yourself, Taichō" Nanao chimed in darkly.

"Yes, but with me I know they're just love taps," he winked. "And another thing, boy," he turned back to the bewildered prince, "don't try moving in on another man's woman if you're not willing to take whatever punishment _he_ might dole out either, hrm?"

Itakeru simply nodded, his eyes almost as wide as Nanao's.

"Well, now that that's all settled, perhaps we should go meet up with some of my coworkers. What time is it, Nanao?"

"We're a few minutes late."

"Then we're right on time!"

Just then Ukitake appeared, already in spirit form.

"Shunsui, what's taking you? We're ready to begin the sealing of Karakura."


	15. Chapter 15

**A new chapter! And the longest so far! We're just about to the same place where the manga's main arc leaves off. I'm still not sure how many more chapters there are going to be, but I'm guessing at least about 3 or 4. Don't worry, I won't leave it hanging! As it is, most of the mysteries are now answered (although there are a couple new ones too) but there is still action to be had! Thanks for all the reviews and suggestions! I'm considering them all and still working out where to go with this. Keep em coming!**

Chapter 15: A New Karakura

Following Ukitake's appearance Yadōmaru Lisa flashed into view.

"The Vizard have been notified; they have vacated Karakura."

"Can we depend upon them in the battle to come?" Ukitake asked her.

"We have our own score to settle with Aizen," she answered darkly. "Besides, you need a few Vizard against the Arrancar. Without us, you don't have a prayer."

"Keep your prayers to yourself," came a cold feminine voice from the shadows. Soifon stepped forth. "We will rely on skill and ability – without treading into forbidden territory."

"Nobody's asking _you_ to transform," Lisa retorted. "We didn't have a choice in the matter, but maybe it's a good thing we have these powers. In the end, won't it be ironic that the Vizard will be the ones to save the very shinigami who turned their backs on us and cast us out?"

Yadōmaru's gasped as Soifon flashed to stand directly behind her, her zampakutō already transformed into its stinger form and placed directly at her throat.

"Do not underestimate the power of the Gotei 13. We will rise to victory _without_ succumbing to paltry hollow tricks."

"Shouldn't you be off chasing after a certain pussy?" Lisa said icily. Soifon's eyes grew wide and very likely her weapon would have met its mark had the elder Kyōraku brother not interfered.

"I don't know what it is you are up against, but I am guessing fighting amongst yourselves is completely counterproductive," Yoshitsune said quietly but firmly as he held back Soifon's arm. Despite her high rank, Soifon's retained some vestige of her identity as a lower-class retainer. She bowed her head respectfully to Yoshitsune and withdrew her arm. Nanao and Lisa sniffed in disdain.

"You don't need to fight my battles for me, Yoshi-san," Lisa said quietly.

"You shouldn't be battling at all given what seems to be rather dire circumstances. Shunsui, why didn't you say anything?" he scolded.

"I was trying to figure out which one to bet on," the younger brother replied unapologetically.

"I think you'd know the winning side by now, Kyōraku," Lisa said darkly.

"How come he gets to be Yoshi-san and I'm just Kyōraku?" he pouted.

"Taichō," Nanao ventured.

"Don't start with that one! I'm still working on you."

"And we're running out of time!"

"She's right, Shunsui," Ukitake said quietly. "We need to make the switch before daybreak. Hitsugaya-san will be overseeing the establishment of the replicated Karakura town along with Sasakibe and Kira."

"Sasakibe-kun's coming out?" Nanao was duly surprised. The first division's vice-captain rarely went anywhere on his own. She barely saw or spoke to him outside meetings. Even Soifon's oaf of an adjutant was more social than Sasakibe Chōjirō.

"That means Yamamoto-Genryūsai doesn't trust us to carry this out on our own. Why else send his vice-captain?" Soifon muttered.

"Maybe the man volunteered," Kyōraku Shunsui suggested with a shrug. "He doesn't get out much after all."

"Either way, we must have the real Karakura safely secured in Soul Society before Aizen comes," Ukitake said. "Have all our allies been vacated?"

"Yoruichi-sama has assured me the Urahara shop inhabitants as well as the Kurosaki family and an acquaintance of theirs by the name of Ishida have all relocated for the time being. We may begin proceedings," Soifon replied.

"Very well. Soifon, please commence with putting the town's residents to sleep. Kotetsu-san is waiting at the other end of town. Upon receiving your mark, she will begin releasing an anesthesia to speed up the process."

Soifon nodded sharply and shupoed away. Ukitake turned to the rest of the group.

"Shunsui I don't know if you are free, but I could use your help."

"Oyaji's disappeared. He's probably waiting to read my reiatsu and cause a bit of trouble. It's better if I stay in gigai form for now. Nanao can give you a hand, though."

"I would appreciate the assistance, Ise-san," he said turning to her. She nodded.

"Where should I meet you, Taichō?"

"Lisa-chan, will you be able to help me move the gang?"

"As long as it keeps me somewhat near the action."

"Good, then Lisa will come find you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two candy dispensers. Nanao picked out the one with a rabbit head.

"I'll do my best, Taichō. Will you take my gigai with you for now?"

"Yes. But I wanted Chappy!"

"This is not the time to argue about something so trivial! Besides, everyone knows Chappy is far more suitable for women than men anyway!"

"You're just saying that because you wanted Chappy too!"

Nanao glared at him and popped the small pill into her mouth. A moment later she emerged in shinigami form.

"Pleased to serve you, mistress," her imitation said with a pleasant smile, soothing voice and very pretty curtsey.

"Oh, I like this version. Never mind, Nanao-chan, you were right. Chappy suits you perfectly," Kyōraku said with a grin.

Nanao sighed and reached forward to remove her zampakutō from the gigai-Nanao. It was unusual to be able to manifest a zampakutō in human form, but from the moment they entered the real world her captain had placed some odd contraption on both of their weapons to allow them to be used without their having to change into shinigami. As Nanao pulled back the weapon, though, it appeared to elicit some sort of fierce reaction in her false form.

"Ack! Why is she stealing things from me? Make her give it back! I don't understand! Do people just think that they can take things from me just because I come in a conveniently portable package? I am a person! I have feelings and emotions!" she exclaimed frantically as she darted from person to person and then melted into a puddle of melodramatic tears at Kyōraku's feet. "I'm not happy," she sniffed.

The real Nanao simply blinked in surprise. This was far worse even than Yachiru's candy withdrawals. "I take it back, Taichō. This one seems like a much better fit with your personality."

"Only when I'm rejected by my merciless Nanao-chan," he replied loftily.

"We need to go now, Ise-san," Ukitake said, handing her a large pile of rods. "We need to demarcate the perimeters of Karakura's town borders to prepare it for transportation. This will also prevent the sleeping vapors being released from leaving the town. I'll need to accompany the town back to Soul Society, so I can't return and help you at all, Shunsui."

He waved it off. "No worries. I'm still technically here on private business so I'll just stay a bit longer if need be."

"Well do your best to wrap it up tonight if you can. I just heard our colleagues have left for Hueco Mundo. Aizen won't be far behind. We'll need you both back with us."

"Nanao-chan, why don't you go back with Jū then? That way if I'm held up somebody will be there to lead the eighth – into battle if necessary."

Nanao huffed and turned away. He was purposely trying to appeal to her feelings of inadequacy. She did feel grateful that he apparently _now_ felt she was capable of leading their squad, but that's probably what he was intending. She was not going to allow him the excuse to send her away.

"So you can extend this into a weeklong holiday? I don't think so. Unless you order it, I'll take my chances staying here with you." She turned to Ukitake-taichō and waited for his instructions.

"All right, you head east and I'll go west. We'll make a complete circle each to make sure we've fully covered the area then meet back here. We have two hours. Good luck." He shunpoed away.

"Well, I don't know _what_ this is all about, but I'm hungry!" Baba declared in a feisty tone.

"Don't bring food anywhere near me!" The false Nanao shrieked. "I might get fat!"

Kyōraku and Nanao ignored them.

"I think you should go back with Jūshirō," he said softly.

"And I think you should stop trying to protect me. I'm in this with you, whether you want me or not."

"_Wanting_ you or not is not the issue."

"Well then what _is _the issue? Is it that I'm incompetent?"

"No."

"Is it that I'm a hindrance?"

"No."

"Is it that I'm a nuisance?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why do you keep trying to shut me out and send me away? I thought we settled this! I have to go help Ukitake-taichō now, but when I get back I fully expect to find Yadōmaru-sempai waiting to take me to join you."

"And if she's not?"

Nanao paused before replying. "If she's not then I'll be very irritated with my captain that he didn't have the gumption to tell me to my face that he didn't want me here!"

"I'm telling you now I don't want you here! It has nothing to do with your abilities or the assistance you have already rendered me, but I do not want you to stay here."

"Are you ordering me to return with Ukitake-taichō?"

He grasped her shoulders and looked directly into her face. "No, I am not 'ordering' you because I should not have to 'order' you. I am simply asking that you trust me and accept when I say that it would be better for you not to remain with us."

Nanao simply stood silently and looked at him. It was rare for her captain to lose his temper, even to this small degree. But then, she could see signs of strain and fatigue in his face and mannerisms. She hadn't taken into consideration how much stress this situation was causing him, and apparently her presence was doing nothing to alleviate the pressure. She was about to agree when Yadōmaru stepped in.

"Let her stay, Kyōraku," she said quietly. They turned to look at her. "You said yourself she's earned her position as fukutaichō. Don't send her away because _you're_ uneasy. You trained her. Have some faith in your work. She could be a great help."

He looked back and forth between the two dark-haired, spectacled women who had pretty well structured and run his life for the past few centuries. He threw his arms up in defeat.

"Yes, you're right."

"Taichō, if you really don't want me to stay-"

"Why do you always give in _after _you've already won?" he asked in teasing exasperation. "Now go, you've got a lot of work to do in only two hours. Lisa-chan will be here when you finish. I promise," he added in response to her skeptical look. She shunpoed away.

He turned back to the group, all of them keenly watching the soap opera unfold.

"Okay everybody, let's get a move on. The drama's ended for the night; you will have to wait till tomorrow night for the next installment."

"Or maybe just till two hours from now," Lisa said suggestively. He looked at her in surprise. "Oh, don't pretend to be so innocent! I know exactly why you don't want her to stay. If she's a distraction then that is something you will have to work out on your own. It's clear she's an effective assistant and if she actually gets you to move then that's less work for me to do." She lowered her voice and approached him so the others couldn't hear. "You can't keep sending her away and keeping her out of the action until you finally figure out your feelings for her. It's not fair to her and it stands in the way of effectively carrying out your job."

"I am perfectly clear on my feelings for my fukutaichō," he said coldly then sighed and ran a hand over his jaw. "That's what scares me."

When Nanao returned to the exterior of the yakitori restaurant she found only Ukitake waiting for her.

"I'm sorry I took so long. I was late in setting out."

"That's all right; I figured given the point we passed each other it might take you a little longer. My third seat officers will also be arriving soon to help with the town transfer. All together that should be plenty of people. You may rejoin Shunsui if you like."

Nanao looked around her. Yadōmaru was nowhere to be found but she felt a familiar reiatsu coming closer. "Thank you, Ukitake-taichō. Good luck with your endeavor."

"Thank you for your help. And… try to get him back as soon as possible if you can."

She nodded and he shunpoed away to meet his subordinates.

"I thought you were sending Yadōmaru-sempai," she said, turning around to watch her captain in his shinigami form walk towards her.

"I decided to come myself so I could apologize. She was right. You have earned your position not only in skill but also in serving and assisting me countless times. And you were right, I was trying to protect you – something it's hard for me not to do but which isn't very complimentary to your abilities. You deserve more consideration than that."

"Taichō, let me ask you once more, and this time I will do whatever it is you say I should with no questions and no arguing but with complete trust in your judgment. Do you want me to go with Ukitake-taichō?"

He smiled and held his hand out to her. "You're with me?"

"Always."

"Then let's go."

She placed her hand in his and they shunpoed away. As he led her through the countryside surrounding Karakura, she pondered just when it was that they came to be hand holders. He stopped in a spacious field and nearly threw himself under a tree.

"Ah, finally! Peace and quiet and a big tree's shade."

"It's pitch black out, what do you need shade for?"

"It's just the comfort of the familiar, Nanao-chan."

"Where is everyone?"

"Closeish. I needed a break."

"Why did you decide to change forms? I thought you were afraid of your father reading your reiatsu."

"His disappeared entirely. I don't know where he is so I figured I may as well change. If it does make him come out of hiding at least then I'll know what he's up to."

"Do you think he was in Karakura then? Ukitake-taichō may have already initiated the transfer."

"No, last I could feel he was nowhere near Karakura. His reiatsu vanished about an hour ago anyway."

"Are the others safe for now?"

"They're deciding which of our compact souls is more annoying."

"Can yours actually compete with the extreme emotional wreck mine is?"

"Oh you'll see. I picked those up when the Shinigami Women's Association was selling them as a fundraiser. What, did you get all the defects?"

Nanao frowned. "The Women's Association? I wasn't notified, and it was most definitely _not_ added to the budget!"

"Well then won't that be an entertaining meeting when you get back."

Nanao didn't reply; she just sat next to her lounging captain. They were both exhausted and there was apparently still a lot to do. Part of Nanao wanted to jump up and get straight to work and not stop until they were finished. She knew, though, that this was not her taichō's way of working. He needed the comfort of grass beneath him, a tree overhead, a cool breeze around him and his vice-captain by his side. He needed glimpses of the familiar to cope with the stresses of the unfamiliar. For that, she could bite her tongue and restrain the restless urge to be busy.

The truth was, Nanao disliked down time for the same reason Kyōraku liked it: it allowed the mind to wander. For him, he could reflect and mull over any and all thoughts that drifted by. For Nanao, her mind targeted first on those things left undone. Once the mental checklist was complete, though, she couldn't help but dwell on thoughts she generally forbade. Incessant work kept her mind distracted. In the quiet of the night, though, uncertainties and questions commanded attention.

She glanced over at her captain. He lay chewing a piece of grass and looking calmly at the moon. She knew he found her presence comforting for the sheer ordinariness if nothing else, but there was something else. At long last she was finally able to quiet some of her insecurities. No, she was not inadequate in his eyes. He was not unhappy she'd accompanied him on this trip to the real world. If anything, she sensed he was a bit grateful for her presence. The thought that he'd once again tried to send her home nagged at her mind, but she mentally brushed it off. Yes, that was true, but he'd capitulated and she knew he was not regretting the decision.

She felt she understood everything that had happened between them over the course of the three days – everything except for what happened a few hours ago when he reached over and kissed her. She wasn't entirely surprised he had made the move. Inasmuch as she'd finally allowed herself to admit that she loved him, she could also admit that there was an undeniable chemistry and compatibility between the two of them. There was just enough yin and yang in them both that while they might still be chaotically circling after one another, at their center there was harmony. They complemented one another. In the midst of a very vulnerable and exposed moment, she had confessed her unswerving faith in him. It was not shocking he would be moved to kiss her. What surprised and unnerved her had been her own reaction. His rawness was her rawness. His vulnerability was hers. She would have done just about anything to remove that sadness from his eyes. It had probably been very lucky that he'd pulled away when he had.

He looked over at her and caught her eye.

"Why do I get the feeling a million thoughts are running through your mind?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Why do I get the feeling nearly none are going through yours?" she responded with a grin of her own.

He stretched and resettled into his recumbent position. "Too much thinking lately. It's nice to take a break."

"Can we afford to take a break?"

"Can we afford not to?"

She shrugged and turned herself around to lie down next to him. The moon _was _pleasantly bright. It was a harvest moon at that – brilliantly orange and seemingly impossibly close to the earth.

"What are you going to do with the boy?" she asked quietly.

"Soifon didn't seem to recognize him, which could be a good sign. Maybe his absence hasn't been noticed that. Or they haven't broadcast a search for him yet, which isn't good. That might mean that someone _is_ out to get him."

"Will you take him back with you?"

"Why, you want two Kyōraku men to take care of?" he smirked.

"You alone occupy an inordinate amount of my time," she commented with a grimace.

"And I don't like to share. No, I think for now it's best if he stays here. Maybe Baba or Jiji-chan can stay with him."

"What about your father's children and their children and so on?"

"So many generations have gone by it doesn't make sense for Jiji-chan to keep watching them. If Oyaji was being good and staying where he agreed to Jiji-chan would have to remain with him, but that's not happening so there's no reason to keep him at the temple."

"What will you do with your father?" she asked, looking over at him. It was an obvious question and one she'd been wondering for the past few hours. Given the scowl on his face obviously he had too.

"I don't know. I'd have to find him first before I could figure out what to do with him. Knowing he's not guilty of killing the king is a relief, I'll admit, but it doesn't really solve anything. We're all still guilty of a major coverup, particularly since it's clear we _did_ believe he was responsible. Conspiring to kill the current king and his siblings is not much better. We're all still in a lot of trouble."

"And Aizen?"

"Oyaji's definitely involved with him no matter what he says. It's the worst thing I've ever thought in my life, but a part of me does hope Sōsuke uses and discards him. Maybe even kills him. Then at least this whole problem could be over," he said bitterly and turned away.

"Do you think he would kill him?"

"There's a chance, but no, Oyaji's a powerful tool. All Sōsuke has to do is reveal my participation in the whole affair and Yama-ji will lock me up for the duration of the war and deal with me later. Whether I'm killed or not, it's still removing a captain at a crucial time where we can't afford it. More than that, it's a psychological blow to all the squads. Here is another example of a Gotei 13 captain who is corrupt and duplicitous. Who else might there be? Sōsuke's a master at mental manipulation. Oyaji's selfish ambition and my foolish actions couldn't work any more perfectly for the self-destruction of Seireitei if he'd planned it."

"… _Could _he have planned it?" Nanao asked quietly. He sighed.

"I've been trying to figure that out. Was Sōsuke behind Kana's and the king's deaths? I can't find a connection. At the time the old king died, Sōsuke had already become vice-captain. He was powerful and influential and probably already scheming. Could he have sent an assassin? Did he buy or persuade an insider's loyalty? Did he manipulate someone into doing the deed? He had full command of his zampakutō at that point; no one whose power is based upon hypnosis and deception could have helped but take advantage of it at the earliest opportunity. I have no proof and no plausible theories, though. I can't just blame him because I want to."

"Is there any way we can remove that power from him? If he plans to use your father to discredit you, can you preempt him and admit your guilt? Perhaps if you explain the situation…"

Kyōraku turned and smiled softly at her. "That's what I think I like best about you, Nanao-chan. You have such a pure, straightforward perception of people."

"You mean I'm naïve?" she said flatly.

"Some might call it that. It's a reflection of your own spirit, though. You do not have pettiness or dishonesty in yourself so you don't look for it in others. Unfortunately, it's there. If I admit my role in the coverup, I might take that little bit of power away from Sōsuke, but the end result will be the same. It's bad enough that I can't simply tell the truth and hope for understanding. I will still be relieved of my post. Possibly you will be too. I will still likely be killed. Possibly you will be too. Some will believe me and some will not. It could tear the Gotei 13 apart and it would nearly destroy Yama-ji. It was bad enough when he had to face Jū and me when we were _right_. How about when it's extremely clear I disregarded the law and chose to help my family despite the heinous crime my father intended to carry out? Yama-ji's faced enough deception lately. Knowing Jū and I withheld this from him would be the final straw. I don't know what he'd do, but it wouldn't be good and it wouldn't be small. I've wanted to tell him so many times, just as I wanted to tell you, but once he knows he'll bear an uncomfortable burden. What should he do then? _My_ guilt might be assuaged by his knowing, but he'll be faced with the responsibility of choosing how to act upon that knowledge."

"Is that why you really didn't want me to know?"

"As long as you didn't know, you wouldn't have to choose sides. You possibly wouldn't have to become involved and thereby become liable. And, more to the point, I wouldn't have to see the disappointment in your eyes when you learned what I'd done. I held off letting you know anything incriminating until it seemed that there was no way I could possibly keep you out of this."

"So why did you want me to leave now? Now I'm aware of the situation and you don't have to worry about how I'll react. I can actually be of use to you now. Why ask me to go away?"

He smiled and lightly laughed to himself. "You really want to know? Because I can't keep my mind focused for two minutes straight when you're around. I thought maybe if you weren't here I could straighten this mess out and return home. But in reality sending you away won't help anything because in those rare moments when you're not nearby I wonder what you're doing or how you'd react to something if you were with me. You've made these three days much more fun than they should have been. I need to find Oyaji and keep him from ruining everything _and_ keep him from Sōsuke's clutches. I need to figure out what to do with my nephew. I need send my brother back to Soul Society where he can go back to pretending nothing ever happened. I need to make sure Baba and Jiji-chan will be all right. I need to find out what happened to Kana and whether the danger is larger than I thought. I have more annoying responsibilities and needs to take care of than I know what to do with. But all I can think about is how I just want to whisk you back to the little dilapidated house and teach you how to fish. I want to see the fire illuminate your face and hear your irritated gasps when I accidentally kick you in the shins under the weight of that musty old futon."

"Can't we?" Nanao breathed.

He laughed. "What?"

"Can't we go? Can't we just send your family back to Soul Society and let them settle their problems? There's no way your nephew would end up as king; there are too many potential heirs in front of him. Couldn't your brother ask him to leave the palace and allow himself to be officially adopted into the Kyōraku clan as the next heir? Then he would be under the protection of your retainers and if he'd officially give up his claim to the throne, that removes him as a threat and therefore might take away the danger to his life."

Kyōraku's eyes grew wide and he fell back on the grass with a thud.

"That… that is a possibility," he said slowly.

"Although I suppose your brother wants to retain the right for his own children to inherit."

Kyōraku chuckled and shook his head. "There's only one woman Nī-chan's ever wanted to marry, and she's not exactly welcome at Soul Society right now."

Nanao frowned and thought. "Shihōin-san?"

"Yoruichi-chan's fun and Nī-chan enjoyed her company, but we'll just say her attentions were always elsewhere. No, as much as he's caught up in his role as a noble, he did the unpardonable and fell in love with a commoner. Something about the glasses, I think it was."

"_Sempai_?"

"Who do you think he's staying with? Lisa-chan used to think he was a bit too stiff and proper, but things were just starting to warm up between them before she was banished. That situation's not about to resolve itself anytime soon so I wouldn't expect any little Yoshitsunes or Lisas running around for a long time to come. Establishing an heir would get Kā-chan off his back and at least gives him the option of relinquishing his title if he decides to join Lisa in the real world. We have thought of this solution before, but there was no way we could ever approach Itakeru. We haven't seen him since long before Kana died. But now that Baba's gotten him here, we might be able to make this work," he mused.

"That would also remove you from being the next in line."

"Mercifully! I can barely deal with people genuflecting before me as a captain; I couldn't bear how they'd treat me if I suddenly became the next leader of the Kyōraku family. There's enough of Oyaji in me that I don't like taking credit for something I didn't do."

"Is that why you refer to everyone so informally?"

He grinned at her and winked. "It started when I was a boy. I thought it might do the nobles around me a bit of good to hear themselves referred to a little more humbly. And then I just started addressing everyone the same way, regardless of station or family. And, to show their support of my feelings on social equality, my parents decided to send me to military school to teach me proper authority and respect. And voila, that is how we come to have the handsome taichō at your side."

"I'm not surprised."

"I'd be disappointed if you were. Do you really want to go back to that house?"

Nanao thought for a moment. "Ukitake-taichō did urge me that we should return as soon as possible." She saw his face fall. "But then, we still don't know where your father is, and it wouldn't be right to return until we've discovered that, right?"

His grin slowly spread across his face. He reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Lets go."


	16. Chapter 16

**Another chapter! I hope you like it! I enabled anonymous reviews, so if there's anyone out there without an account who'd like to give me feedback, please do! Thanks!!**

Chapter 16: The Next Step

Kyōraku led Nanao to a secluded cave where his family members and co were assembled and waiting. It appeared their gigai were indeed the focus of everyone's attention. Nanao's was squatting and making guano cakes and talking to herself. She looked up and smiled and extended one of the little brown patties to them.

"I'm going to have a tea party! Come join me!"

Meanwhile, the Kyōraku imitation was stretching in a somewhat bizarre manner and muttering strange phrases to himself. As Nanao listened in, she realized he was stating the names of the positions he was in.

"Demi-plié… demi-plié… and _grand_-plié… and sauté sauté sauté sauté!" He jumped up and down, holding his arms before him. "Échappé sauté!" His arms and feet spread out as he continued jumping.

Nanao raised an eyebrow and looked over at her captain. "Is he doing…_ ballet_?"

"That or an odd variation on Ikkaku's lucky dance," Kyōraku remarked as he crossed his arms and watched the spectacle.

"I had no idea your gigai was so limber."

"Neither did I. I could have been putting it to much better use."

"At least you'll get some good exercise and toning out of this," Nanao remarked, adjusting her glasses. "I'm just going to end up with filthy hands."

"Yes, exercise and a serious blow to my masculinity," her captain said flatly as he watched his human form extend into an arabesque.

"Given your style of dress I wasn't aware masculinity was something you were particularly concerned with. You could join the Shinigami Men's Association," Nanao suggested with a smirk. He made a face at her.

"I keep telling Jūshirō – there is nothing less manly than joining a club dedicated to manliness."

"Grand jeté!" the faux Kyōraku called as he elegantly leaped between Nanao and the bemused Kyōraku-taichō. Unfortunately he landed in one of the bat poo patties, sending the artificial Nanao into hysterics.

"I don't remember seeing this particular personality trait in Chappy's character description," Nanao muttered darkly in the midst of the wailing.

"Could you both _please_ get back in your bodies already? We've been putting up with this for the past two and a half hours!" Lisa shouted at them over the din. Kyōraku nodded at Nanao and she stepped into her wailing human form. Her captain, for his part, had to chase his body as it pranced on tiptoe all about the cave before he finally caught hold and pushed his spirit form in. As the pill containing the compact soul popped out he caught it and gave it a rueful look.

"Well you're an odd little thing, aren't you? One thing that's certain, I'll be sure not to trust any future fundraisers from the Women's Association."

"I wasn't told about that," Nanao interjected defensively. "Believe me, this wouldn't have happened if I'd been involved!"

"Which I'm guessing is why you weren't told," he pointed out. "Still, what an interesting little prank. I wonder what the other types of soul candy were like? This is much more fun than anything the men's group comes up with; can I join the Women's Association too, Nanao-chan?"

"No! The point of allowing the Men's Association to form was so you male captains would stop crashing our meetings!"

"_Allowing_?"

"Within reason _and_ carefully regimented. We don't want them to get too full of themselves, after all. The male-to-female ratio in Gotei 13 is grossly disproportionate as it is. The Women's Association was supposed to be a way for high-ranking _female_ shinigami to gather together and promote women's issues and concerns. Then the men became jealous and needed to have their own little group despite the fact that practically the entirety of Seireitei _is_ a men's club!"

"Don't you think this is a conversation you could continue _back in Seireitei_?" Lisa interjected sharply.

"Shut up, the girl's got a point!" Baba retorted. "It's about time women shinigami made the effort to be more visible and more in control!"

"The problem has always been quantity, not quality; if they're not killed early in their careers, women shinigami almost always rise to the top and become captains and vice-captains," Lisa pointed out, her arms crossed.

"And then they become incredibly pushy," Kyōraku agreed with a nod.

"_Pushy_?" Nanao and Lisa screeched in unison.

"And scary," he added with a gulp.

"Shun, I think maybe you should let this conversation end. It's not going to get any better from here," Yoshitsune said as he nervously scratched the side of his neck. On either side of him Baba and Lisa looked ready to pounce and Nanao seemed like she was ready to throw one of the guano patties at him.

"Agreed," the younger brother said. "Besides, I think it's time for a Kyōraku men conference. Itakeru-kun, you too, and give that magazine back to Lisa-chan."

In the firelight, Nanao could see the teenage boy turn red and he pushed the offending object over towards Yadōmaru then rose and shuffled over to join his uncles in the far side of the cave.

"Well! Don't think I'm just going to sit here while you boys decide what to do! Move over, Shunsui! Make room for Baba." The old woman hobbled over and shoved a spot amongst the men, leaving Nanao and Lisa by the fireside. Neither said anything or moved until Lisa reached over to throw one of the patties on the fire.

"Is that why my gigai was making these?" Nanao asked.

"No. She was honestly pretending to play tea party. We just told her we'd play along once she'd made enough of these. She didn't notice we kept burning them, though. They make for good fuel if they're not too wet."

"It's disgusting."

"It's what we have. Buck up, Ise. Don't turn prissy on me now."

"_Turn_ prissy on you? Maybe this is just how I am. What do you really know about me at all? I'm not the same little girl you last knew."

"You need to get over that same tired refrain. I'm not saying you are. I'm merely inferring that the Ise Nanao I knew was a sensitive but practical child who wouldn't make such a deal over a bit of bat dung. I'd be seriously disappointed to find out that quality was gone."

"It's not. I'm not 'prissy,' it's just… I'm not that same little crybaby from before. I don't want you to see me that way."

"I don't. And you were never that bad, really. I guess the oaf does deserve a bit of credit where it's due. If you ever were a crybaby, he'd knock that out of you real fast. Kyōraku might like the occasional damsel in distress, but when it comes right down to it he can't abide anyone who isn't able to stand on her own two feet. I don't think he likes the added responsibility of having anyone too dependent on him."

"Oi, I heard my name! I don't know what you two are talking about, but it better be nice!" Kyōraku-taichō called over to them.

"Of course not! Butt out!" Lisa shouted back. She reached over to pick up the discarded magazine. "Gah! The kid wrinkled it," she muttered darkly. Nanao simply watched her as she flipped through the booklet.

"What's it like?" she finally asked quietly.

"You'll need to be a little more specific than that, you know. What's what like? The magazine? Being a Vizard? Seireitei's rejection? Having to live and work and associate with the _same annoying people_ day after day after day? Knowing I've got this monster inside me? Pick a topic – I'll give you an earful."

"What's it like when you transform into a hollow?"

Lisa shrugged. "It's been such a long time I hardly remember what it was like to just be a shinigami. I'm used to it, although it terrified me at the beginning. At least we were all able to learn how to subdue our inner demons. That's more than a lot of people can claim."

"Do you really think we don't have a chance without the Vizards?"

Lisa gave Nanao a queer look. "How much thought have you really put into this war, or even in the relationship between shinigami and hollow? Not much, I'm guessing, but it's just about all that's been on my mind for the past century or so. Here, think about it this way – how would you describe shinigami and hollows?"

"We're exact opposites."

Lisa smiled coldly at her. "Precisely. _Exact_ opposites. We're _so_ opposite one another that we've ended up being exactly the same. We're two sides of the same coin; we may be opposites, but when it comes down to it we're just different expressions of the same essence. How easy is it to flip from shinigami to hollow or vice versa? Pretty easy it turns out. We all have an inner hollow, and that suggests that all hollows have inner shinigami. Does it really matter what the proportions are? It's the same thing. We're the same. Seireitei stubbornly ignores the issue, but the Vizards were forced into a position where it was impossible not to acknowledge and accept that fact. The Arrancar are fully exploiting the similarity, which gives them twice as much power to draw from. Think about that for a moment: these are the strongest of the hollows who are then able to develop captain-class shinigami powers. If you add the two together, yes, they're extraordinarily powerful and you don't have a chance without the aid of people who can at least match them in ability! Unfortunately, we're still seriously outnumbered. This is not going to be a pretty battle and there's just enough skill on both sides to ensure it will be a long one."

"Should the shinigami be looking into developing our inner hollow potentials? Should we be trying to become Vizards ourselves?" Nanao asked earnestly. Lisa gave her a sideways glance.

"You could be in serious trouble just for asking that."

"I could be in serious trouble just for talking to you. At least you'll give me an honest and informed answer, though."

"True," she agreed and paused to think for a moment. Finally she shook her head. "There's just no time. First you'd all have to work on drawing out your inner hollow; as far as any of us knows, the only one to successfully do that without Aizen's interference was the Kurosaki kid. So, _if_ the shinigami were able to get that far there's still the added complication of learning how to subdue the hollow. That's a very difficult thing to do. It took most of the Vizard several hours despite the fact that we were all extremely powerful. This is not the time where Seireitei could face the possible sacrifice or defection of yet more officers. These powers are not to be taken lightly, and if they're not kept under control they're of absolutely no use to the Gotei 13 whatsoever. Seireitei's right to be wary of the forbidden transformation, but by completely outlawing and ignoring the danger they're left extremely susceptible."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"Well maybe it's time to start thinking of things like that. This isn't a battle remotely similar to anything you might have faced before. There's no way you can prepare for it with traditional methods and thinking."

Nanao looked aside, her mind suddenly filled with the conversations she'd had with her captain over the intensive training schedule she'd put the eighth through. How right he had been. Everything he had said resonated with Yadōmaru's words. Again, she felt like a fool.

"Kyōraku-taichō said almost exactly the same," she finally said quietly. "Why am I blind to seeing these things myself?"

Lisa sighed and shifted her weight. "It's probably for the same reason you think people keep treating you like little Nanao-chan. I don't really know you or the woman you've grown into, but for my part I'm guessing you've become the perfect assistant – the one who knows all the rules and the proper course of action for every situation. What you don't have that Kyōraku and I do is experience. There's no chapter out there on what to do in when confronting a vasto lorde, and even if there was who do you think would have written it? Ideally someone who had him or herself confronted a vasto lorde and lived to tell about it. There's only so far you can go with learning from somebody else's experiences, though. You need to have your own and grow from them or people will keep protecting you."

"How can I? Kyōraku-taichō is always there to keep me from getting too involved and possibly getting hurt," Nanao said bitterly.

"Because you haven't yet pushed him off and said 'I can take care of myself! Just watch me!' And then proceeded to show him. I think I did that my first week or two as his adjutant. I can't stand having anyone watching out for me, but then I'm used to being on my own. You came into the eighth as a little girl. _Everyone_ looked out for you. You showed all of them, little by little, and look where you are now. Now it's time to do the same with him. But, really… given the way I've seen you look at your taichō over there, you don't mind him looking out for you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I'm wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Nanao said crossly. "Of course I look at him. I am here to help him, and he's not always very forthcoming about when and how he needs assistance."

"Believe me, I know that at least as well as you do. I understand ignoring commands and prying into his affairs in order to make sure I am ready at his beck and call the moment he needs something. I understand trying to foresee every possible situation and thinking of what to do if my captain's suddenly in danger. I understanding watching his every move and calculating when and how he might need me – whether it's to catch him when he falls after a night of drinking or interfering in a sword battle when someone comes upon him from behind. Even so, I don't think I've ever looked at him with the kind of eyes you have when you're watching."

Nanao huffed and started rising from her crouched position when Lisa's hand shot out to catch hers.

"Watch your emotions, Ise!" she said in a fierce whisper. "They will cloud your instincts and inhibit you the moment when _he_ needs you most." She jerked her head in Kyōraku's direction. "And if _I_ noticed, then you'd better believe he has too."

Nanao was too taken aback to deny what they both knew was true. There was fierceness in Yadōmaru's eyes that unsettled her. They continued staring at each other for a few minutes, then Lisa's grasp on Nanao's arm loosened.

"I just want to serve him the best way I can," Nanao finally said, her voice a little shaky. A smirk slowly grew on Lisa's face.

"He'll show you. I know that bastard in and out. He responds to your reactions. Once you're ready, he'll show you how to push him aside and be that contained self-reliant woman we always knew was in you. That is, _if _you want to push him aside."

"And if I do?"

"He'll let you. He may even garner an element more respect for you. Oh, you'll still be Nanao-chan, but little things about your relationship will change. It's the step you'll need to take to one day become a captain yourself. Who knows, after all the excitement and drama of the Arrancar battle, they may be in need of a few new captains. Of course, that's assuming you'll survive, but if the oaf has anything to say about it, you will. You're his little Nanao-chan after all. But then, if you're still relying on him to come to your rescue all the time that wouldn't make you a very good captain, would it?"

Nanao turned away. This was a lot to compute, especially considering it was coming from someone she'd looked on as her older sister, her predecessor, her ideal and her rival. At one point, Yadōmaru-sempai's opinion would have meant the world to her – far more than her captain's. Now too, she realized she longed to see approval and respect from her formal idol. Instead, she was receiving advice and guidance couched in sarcasm and mockery. The feelings Nanao had only recently come to realize for herself were blatantly clear to this woman she'd barely rekindled a connection with. Moreover, she'd insisted her captain would have certainly noticed them himself. That did not surprise Nanao, but at the same time it mortified her. The pretense of ignoring the obvious was the only way she and Kyōraku could function on a day-to-day basis, at least without her running off in shame and embarrassment.

Yadōmaru stood up and approached Nanao. "Maybe it'll be different for you, though. Maybe you'll always be his Nanao-chan who must be protected and shielded, no matter what you say or do. Maybe you both like where things are. And, really, as a captain and vice-captain, where could things go?" She started walking away then stopped and faced Nanao in the eye. "But then, that's how things function normally. In times of war, all sorts of social and judicial prohibitions break down. Just about anything is permissible then. The only thing that's difficult is the aftermath in the face of victory."

"Are you trying to advise me on a course of action?" Nanao asked.

"Get over whatever it is you think you're going to hear from me. Decide for yourself, Ise. Figure out what you want and then who cares what I or the oaf has to say about it."

She turned back around and approached the small party huddled in the back. "Break it up, guys! We're running out of time and I for one am getting tired just waiting around for this jerk to come up with a plan of action!"

"Eh, Lisa-chan's scary when she's bored!" Kyōraku-taichō whimpered.

"Isn't she?" his older brother agreed with a grin.

"Quit dithering and let's discuss this around the fire! My bones are too old to be huddled in the back of some wet cave! Honestly boys, what were you thinking?" Baba cried as she yanked Yoshitsune's arm in pulling herself up and hobbling over to the fireside. "Sit down, girlie!" she cried at Nanao. Nanao seated herself next to the old woman. It _was_ rather cold in the cave and her gigai was still dressed in the party dress that left her shoulders exposed.

The Kyōraku men came over. Itakeru, whom Nanao realized she had yet to hear a word from, seated himself next to her and grinned cheekily at her. His expression quickly changed to one of shock as his younger uncle picked him up and moved him down.

"Now, now, it's my turn to torture Nanao-chan. You've already gotten a few good swipes at her which is more than she's ever let me accomplish."

"Don't think that's about to change," she said darkly.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Where would all the fun be then?" He said with a smile that eerily echoed his nephew's. "You just see what I do whenever you choose to pull a sword on _me_, though!"

"I think that's enough insight into your idea of foreplay," Lisa snapped. "What are we going to do now? By now the false Karakura should be in place. When should we expect Aizen?"

"I imagine sometime this afternoon or tomorrow," Kyōraku commented nonchalantly. The end of the world apparently had little affect on his state of being.

"Brilliant. Where do you want to Vizards?"

"Wherever they're most comfortable. I certainly wouldn't want a group of unhappy Vizards on my hands."

"Do you want us to wait before coming into your battle? Give me _something_ here!"

"Considering there's not supposed to be any interaction between the shinigami and Vizards, I think it make most sense for the Vizards to do as they would normally do, don't you, Lisa-chan? Just watch and wait and jump in when you feel like joining the fun."

"Shunsui, Ukitake told me a little and Lisa filled me in on the rest. This is a very serious situation! Is there anything you want me to do? Maybe I could convince noble families whose guards who were trained at the academy to make them join the corps and help fight off the Aizen threat!" His older brother said gravely

"Ah yes, because shinigami rejects whose only recent encounters with battle include standing in front of gates and exterminating field mice will make for splendid reinforcements, and what could be better than angered, self-entitled nobles who now feel exceptionally vulnerable? Thank you for your help, Nī-chan but keep your guards in the noble quarter. If anything happens, get hold of every able-bodied soldier you can and surround the outer castle wall. The _outer _wall, mind you! Only the most trusted royal guards should be closest to the king. If the outer wall is breached, the rest will be up to them."

"What about Itakeru-sama?" Yoshitsune asked.

"Yes, what to do with our little nephew?" the younger Kyōraku asked, reaching over to muss up the boy's hair. "You understood our proposition?"

The boy nodded.

"Do you still need more time to think about it?"

He slowly nodded again.

"Well, think about it this way: if you go back as a royal prince _now_, you'll have to be returned to the palace. There's a good chance the palace is going to be under attack very soon. If you go to my house to let yourself be spoiled rotten by my mother as the potential new heir to the Kyōraku family, you'll still have not yet officially surrendered your position as a prince. That can happen later when this whole mess is finished if you decide that's where you want to go. And, best of all, if the royal palace _is_ attacked, you'll be safe under Nī-chan and Baba's careful eye. More than that, if we do end up winning the battle but only at the expense of your royal brothers and sisters, well then that could leave you in prime position to ascend the throne. Sound good?"

The young man's eyes grew large and he emphatically nodded his head.

"There's a good but rather disturbingly optimistic young lad," Kyōraku-taichō said with a little pat on the boy's back. "Well then, we're all set. Lisa-chan, you return to your buddies and prepare to descend upon us in the midst of battle in a pleasant _deus ex machina_ to save the day, and Nī-chan, you accompany Baba and Itakeru-kun back to your house. Don't mention a word of this to Kā-chan or anyone else, though. The last thing the Gotei 13 need is a crew of highly-strung nobles breathing down our necks demanding extra protection at a time we really can't afford it. Byakuya will let you know whatever is worth knowing."

"And you?" the elder brother asked.

"There are a few items of unfinished business Nanao and I need to deal with."

"Oyaji?"

"Him too," he responded in a dark tone.

They all headed out of the cave. The sun hadn't yet appeared but the sky was notably turning a little lighter. Before much longer the birds would be out. It had been a long night and it wasn't over yet.

"I'll head off now," Lisa said. "We'll be ready when you are."

"It'll be good to work with you again," Kyōraku-taichō said cheerily.

"Be careful," Yoshitsune added. Lisa looked over at them and they shared a look. If it hadn't been for her captain's insight into their relationship, Nanao wouldn't assume there was anything beyond camaraderie between the two. Still, she wondered if the look in Lisa's eyes was the same she insisted was in Nanao's. She turned away. At the very least she could allow the lovers a moment's private glance. Lisa dashed away.

"Now, Itakeru-kun, you're not going to make too big of a fuss over being a prince, right? And you're going to be respectful to Nī-chan, right? And you're going to obey Baba or suffer the consequences, right? And you're going to drive Kā-chan crazy, right?" Kyōraku asked, his hand on his nephew's shoulder. The boy nodded emphatically to every command and smiled on the last. Nanao decided that he wasn't such a terribly bad looking boy after all… in a few years he could perhaps be up to his uncles' standards. And oh, what a day that would be for Soul Society's female population. She rolled her eyes as she thought of another Kyōraku in the same mold as her captain set loose. As long as he wasn't set loose in her general vicinity. Assuming she would still _have_ a vicinity, or that she'd still be alive, or that he would be, come to that. She shook her head and bid these negative thoughts to go away.

For the first time, this "impending battle" was looming straight in front of her and she didn't like the suddenness with which reality was settling in. All those trainings she put her squad through were as much for keeping her mind busy as it was for theirs. They were not ready and they were not going to be ready, but they didn't have to know that. Unfortunately, she did. That was part of the strain of being in a position of authority; there was no blind trust she could put in the people above her. There was only her captain above her, and as much as she trusted him, she could not pretend he was impenetrable to the enemy at hand.

"Take care," her captain bid his brother, nephew and nanny as they stepped through the double set of shōji gates that led to Soul Society. Nanao felt her throat constrict as they disappeared.

"Taichō, shouldn't we head back as well? We have to get back to the squad! We have to be there for our orders and prepare for the battle for Karakura!" she cried.

He looked at her, then at the empty field where the gates had just disappeared and then back to her again. "You really do have _strange _timing! No, Nanao-chan. We're staying here for now. We have things to do. For example, I need to teach you how to fish." He started walking calmly away. She yanked on his sleeve.

"_Fish_? We are facing _war_!"

He paused for a moment, confusion clear on his face. "Okay, I was lying down under a tree… I said I wanted to go back to the little house… you said 'can't we?'… I said 'Let's go.' Did I miss something? It seemed pretty clear to me. Did something happen to alter the plan?"

"I didn't mean it then. It just sounded so perfect and I was caught up with the moment."

"Well then I encourage you to get caught up in the moment more often," he smiled. "In that instant you came up with a clear solution that possibly saved my nephew's life and seriously relieved some of the pressure on Nī-chan's and my backs from our dear dominating mother. What's the matter with you? It's unlike you to get this upset. Is the stress of facing Aizen getting to you? Then you most definitely need some rest and relaxation!"

"Taichō, I _did_ want to go back; I had a good time there that one night. It was fun. It was idyllic. It seemed impossible to think that there was any of this battle happening. When you mentioned returning, it was like I could again for one night put off and forget anything about Aizen. But we can't do that when he's set to come in only a few hours!"

"Why not? Our leave isn't up yet. At least mine isn't, and Yama-ji _did_ want you to keep an eye on me."

She straightened her back and adjusted her glasses. "Can you honestly say that when you are standing over the bodies of your dead subordinates you can think back that just twenty-four hours before you were up to your knees in a stream teaching me how to fish?" she asked in her coldest voice.

"That was low, Nanao-chan. Or at least, it was attempting to be low. But yes, I can promise you that standing over the bodies of my dead subordinates I _will_ be thinking back to standing up to my knees in a stream and what your face looked like when a large fish swam through your hands. I will be thinking of anything to juxtapose the horrible scene before me. I will be thinking of anything to keep me from losing faith in life and beauty and humanity. Come back to the house with me."

"No! We have a job to do! We have responsibilities!" she cried.

"Damn straight! And I can't face them just yet. Besides, Oyaji's still out there. I can't go back if I don't know he's out of all of this."

"You can't even find him!"

"I know. That makes me feel like I know exactly where he might be, or at least where he went for at least a moment."

"How does going to the house help then?"

"It'll either confirm or deny my suspicion. Much as I'd love to claim the contrary, there actually _is_ a good reason to go there that's related to our current incomplete mission here."

She sighed and glared at him. "Do you promise?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you're making me promise to, but yes, I promise."

She sighed again and shook her head. "Let's go."


	17. Chapter 17

**Another chapter focused on Nanao and Shunsui. Tell me what you think! I'm going to take some time and ponder the suggestions people have been making in comments - some I might integrate (my vision of Nanao's zampakutō? Hrm...) and some I might not. Dunno, but we'll see. There are still a couple more chapters to go, though, so anything might happen!**

Chapter 17: Return

Nanao trudged along behind her captain. They needed to get back to this little ghost town in who-knew-where and for that they needed a train. They could not return to Karakura because, well, it wasn't there anymore. Therefore they had to head to another, further off town and because apparently part of this trip's purpose was to return their borrowed gigai, they couldn't just discard the false bodies and shunpo to wherever it was they needed to go. Unfortunately, that meant that Nanao was stuck with her now incredibly sweaty and filthy party dress that constricted her ribcage and impacted her breathing, and her aching feet were confined in tight similarly dirty high heels. She was exhausted, hungry, cold, sticky and sore. In a way it amused her to see that for all her endurance training and conditioning she was easily done in by a pair of pointy shoes.

"Oi, Nanao-chan, hurry up. We'll be able to catch the first train."

"I'm doing my best, Taichō," she said between clenched teeth.

"Maa, come on. You said you were ready for this." He was speaking casually, but it was surprising the effect his words had on Nanao. Her eyes turned steely and she hobbled determinedly up to him.

"_Ready_ for this? I _am_ ready for this! I am ready for an egomaniacal traitorous old man. I am ready for an infuriatingly chipper alcoholic monk. I am ready for an encounter with the ruthless superior officer and mentor of my childhood. I am ready for a wheedling captain who drags me all over Japan, up and down mountains, on and off trains going to who knows where, into parties and dress shops, into smoky holes in the wall and dirty bat caves, into situations he tells me absolutely _nothing_ about until he can't possibly avoid it any further, and into going along with slouching off work because he doesn't feel 'up to it' yet. I am ready for a hormonal prince who has apparently decided I'm his embodied introductory textbook to manhood. I am ready for Aizen and the entire inhabitants of Hueco Mundo – en masse, at once. I am ready to face Yamamoto's rage for whatever it is you've done to tick him off lately. What I am _not_ ready for is having to do the majority of this in _four inch high heels_!"

Kyōraku was silent for a moment as he looked down at his fuming fukutaichō.

"So… what I'm hearing is, you're feeling a little overworked?" he said in a small voice. She screamed some incomprehensible syllable in response and tottered away.

"Oi, Nanao, wait up. Here, let me carry you for a while."

"Not happening," she said darkly.

"Then why don't you walk barefoot?"

"I think I'd actually be in more pain then. It takes a while to adjust to being out of agonizing shoes."

"Well then it's in my arms or over my shoulder."

She glared up at him.

"Your choice," he added with a smile. She ignored him, but when he started hoisting her up she realized he was quite serious about it.

"All right, fine!" she shouted. He settled her into his arms. It was at the very least a tiny bit more dignified than slung across his back. Still, she crossed her arms and turned away so he wouldn't see her blushing. Oh what Yadōmaru-sempai would say if she could see this. Rather, she probably wouldn't say anything, merely lift an eyebrow suggestively. Even visualizing her reaction was enough to make Nanao even grumpier.

"See, isn't that better?" he cooed.

"Be quiet."

"But it's so sad. I've got my lovely Nanao-chan in my arms and no one around to witness it."

"Don't look at me as a witness. I'll deny everything."

"But that would be dishonest."

"I'm sure you'll recover."

"I'm discovering Nanao-chan is in very bad spirits when she's under rested."

"Shut up."

Hrm, this was a different reaction from her. Ooh, a new line to cross!

"But still, this isn't too terrible, right? I hear women like to be manhandled a bit every now and then." At this Kyōraku could have hit himself with a book or a fan. It was a tease, but it was too far with an already pushed-to-her-limit Nanao. Without looking at her face he could feel her eyes grow large in fury.

"DOWN. _NOW_."

He complied. She wasn't armed; they hadn't yet reconverted their zampakutō to being usable when in human form, but when it came to Nanao she was never exactly defenseless. She limped away from him and he wisely kept a bit of distance between the two. It was relatively clear that Nanao was in, to put it mildly, a very bad mood. Still his chivalrous act had saved her walking all of, oh, about a half a block.

At the very least, she didn't spurn him when he covertly sneaked up to her and put his evening jacket over her shivering shoulders. And when they stopped for a break she didn't glare, hit, snarl, scream or bite when he knelt before her, removed her shoes and started massaging her feet. She looked away haughtily, but the fact that she allowed him to do that at all was a sign of just how much discomfort she was in. Poor kid. It was amazing the torture women would go through – even women like his practical Nanao-chan. That said, the shoes had given her killer calves.

From there on she limped along barefoot and wordlessly accepted his proffered arm. He even took her shoes in his free hand. They did get a few odd glances as they walked slowly into town, though. The sun was well up by then and the earliest commuters and business owners were just starting to walk about. Not many people arrived by walking up the main road and especially not in eveningwear and barefoot. Kyōraku wasn't particularly concerned. He felt sorry for Nanao, but at the same time he thought this was rather fun.

They made the first train with a few minutes to spare and somehow even managed two seats together. Nanao intended to stay awake for the duration of this trip to see just where it was they were going but ended up falling asleep before the train pulled out of the station. She awoke a little while later but was glad at least to see that she'd slept with her head against the window and not against her captain. She glanced over at him. He was staring out the window behind them at the countryside. Yadōmaru had been right. He was remarkably perceptive. Nanao had always known that. It was ridiculous to think he hadn't been the first to notice whatever her feelings for him had been. Still, he'd carried on as usual because, well, what other option was there? It was actually pretty generous of him. It had protected her feelings and preserved their working relationship. Although, there was his constant teasing and flirting. It was occasionally unbearable but at the same time comfortingly familiar. And actually, now that she thought about it, his actions had maintained a status quo between them. Because of the inappropriate things he said and did, she was ever more vigilant, more on guard, more proper, more severe, more… Ise-fukutaichō than she would have been otherwise. He knew only too well where the line between them was – he'd created it, and her reactions to his behavior maintained it. How long had he known of their odd compatibility? Knowing him, probably from the beginning. That was the thing about Kyōraku-taichō; no matter his foolishness or the various pretenses he put up, he always had a good idea of just what was going on. He was reassuringly the same. It was Nanao who had changed. It was she who had suddenly awakened to the forbidden and not entirely welcome or unwelcome feelings she had for him, and now she had to deal with the burden of this knowledge. How he felt for her was almost a non-issue. There was something beyond the typical taichō-fukutaichō relationship there, but what exactly she didn't know. What a mess.

He looked down at her and winked.

"Good morning. Are you feeling better?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry if I was a little unpleasant."

"Well we're both here with no eviscerated limbs, so I'd say there's no harm done."

"Glad to hear it."

He reached around and pulled her against him. She probably should have pushed back, but she was too tired. This action should also have sent her brain into a million little analyses of why and what he was doing, but she was too tired for that too. It felt comfortable to lie with her cheek against his chest so she wasn't about to fight the issue. They continued this way for a while. When he spoke again she was on the verge of sleep.

"I like your dress, by the way. That's definitely coming back with us."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I bought it therefore I say we keep it."

"Oh really? Is that the way it works?"

"Um, maybe?" he said hopefully.

"I don't think it'd particularly flatter you in color or cut but suit yourself."

He chuckled. "Such a brat." He kissed the top of her head and rested his chin against her hair. She fell asleep.

When they arrived at the station Nanao didn't even try to listen or see where they were. For some reason it didn't matter anymore. Kyōraku-taichō said they were going there, so they were going there. She supposed this was counterproductive to the show of strength and independence and self reliance she theoretically should be confronting her captain with, but at this point she just didn't care. It was actually a relief to ignore the world around her, put her faith and reliance in the hand holding hers and just be led to wherever it was they needed to go.

They stopped by the temple to leave a message for Jiji-chan then boarded a small bus that would take them to the abandoned village. At least they weren't traversing the mountain this time. Kyōraku could be a bit sadistic at times but he wasn't cruel.

"Going back to visit the hometown?" the bus driver asked with a gappy grin. Nanao could barely understand the melding of the local dialect with his old fashioned form of speech and the slight slurring that often accompanies speech patterns of the elderly. He was altogether charming and rustic, though. Kyōraku agreed and told the man he wanted to show her his childhood home. She couldn't comprehend the man's response, but her captain nodded and murmured something in reply. They set off soon afterwards. There were only three other people on the bus, and clearly she and her captain were the aberrations on their standard morning commute.

It turned out the two towns were only about a ten minute drive away from each other, which made the morning mountain climb of a few days before extra irritating. Actually, Nanao was surprised to realize they'd left the hut only two days before. It seemed like such much had time had gone by, but in reality they'd been gone little more than a long weekend. It made her feel a tad less annoyed about coming back here. Her captain, for his part, seemed a little trepidatious. He took his time drawing out his zampakutō and adapting it for use. He inserted one of the blades in the enlarged keyhole slot and held the other at the ready as he slid the door to the side. He peered around the corner and Nanao peeked over his shoulder. The room was empty.

"Stay here," he said under his breath. He checked outside and under the cabinets. He ran upstairs and Nanao could hear him thrashing around the cupboards. She entered as he ran down the stairs.

"I thought as much," he grumbled.

"He's been here?"

"I'm not sure how he got in. Maybe the back door was unlocked or he forced open the windows."

"How do you know he was here?"

"A particular item that I purposely left here is no longer anywhere to be found." He was livid. "Here, by the way." He threw a pile of clothing at her. "I thought at least one of us would be returning so I left a change of clothing for both along with your cloak. That's what's missing."

Realization dawned on her. "The reiatsu-blocking cloak?"

"That's how he was able to disappear so completely. We should stay in our gigai for a while yet. As long as he can't quite sense us he might come back."

"How long do you want to stay?"

He thought for a moment. "We can't afford more than another night at most."

"Will we return to Seireitei then?"

"Unless they've already moved to battle in the fake Karakura. But, in the meanwhile, you get changed and I'll be outside waiting."

"You still want to go fishing?"

"Well I'm starved and there are practically no other food supplies, so yes I think that's a good idea. Be out in two minutes. No cleaning up or folding anything. Just come straight out, all right?"

"Yes, fine, go!"

He left out the back door and she took her time changing. It was delightful to get out of that constricting wear. Being male, Kyōraku had only set aside a shirt and skirt for her; what else could she possibly need? She flung the heels to the far side of the room. With luck he wouldn't notice and tell her to bring those back with them too. She changed and set to folding her dress and his suit jacket. He glared accusingly at her when she finally emerged.

"You cleaned up, didn't you?"

"Yes, are we going?"

He wordlessly stood up, grabbed a spear resting against the house exterior and indicated she should proceed down the narrow, barely marked path in front of them. He too had removed his shoes and his tuxedo trousers were rolled to the knee. The bowtie had long since become undone and still lay limply around his neck. Even like this though, he was Kyōraku-taichō and perfectly content in his surroundings.

They followed the path into the woods and over a small hill. Nanao had to pick her way carefully around the sharp rocks subtly implanted in the slope leading down to the stream. As she neared the water she realized it was more akin to a small river than a simple creek. Her captain rushed past her and threw himself into the water. He emerged a moment later and flung his hair out of his face.

"Oi, Nanao-chan! Come on in!"

"This is my only clean clothing. I'm not about to get it wet!"

"Well don't hold back on my account. I'm fine with it if you want to go skinny dipping."

She ignored him and reached over for the spear he'd dropped before plunging into the water.

"Now, now, Nanao-chan," he said cautiously.

"Don't you need this?"

"That's cheating. Come here, I'll show you another way. He swam over to the side and held a hand out to her. The water seemed shallow, but she was hesitant to enter even if the water didn't seem like it went past her knees. Still, if she didn't go, he wouldn't stop whining for the rest of the night. Cautiously she walked over and accepted his hand to enter the water. As soon as she was more than an arm's length from the shore, though, he swooped his arm around her and pushed her under for a quick bob. She came up sputtering with her glasses around her chin and her hair plastered to her face.

"That was uncalled for!"

"That was most definitely called for!" He replied merrily. "Swim with me!"

"I don't _want_ to swim with you! I want to be happy and dry on the shore!"

"Well it's a moot point now. You may as well."

"Do you always have to get your way?"

"I really think I do."

"Regardless of what other people want?"

"Nanao-chaaaan. It'll be fun. Much more fun than sitting in the sun. Besides, I don't want to play by myself!"

"We're not supposed to be playing, we're supposed to be getting food!"

"Why can't we do both? We can even play with our food. Come here, I'll show you." He grabbed her arm, took a deep breath and submerged, giving Nanao only a brief moment to do the same. The water was a bit murky but refreshing. Even when he let go of her she was just able to keep sight of his white shirt and follow along. They kept swimming until they came to a flat, shallow area where they could walk to the surface on their hands. Nanao seated herself next to her captain on the rocks and looked at him. He was carefully scanning the water.

"Well what now?"

"Shhh, we'll wait for the water to settle down for a minute and then… there's one!" His hands shot into the water and scooped the shining fish out of the water and onto the rocks behind them. It flapped in the sunlight before falling into an eddy and swimming away.

"You try!"

"Isn't spearing them a little more humane rather than letting them suffocate to death?"

"Well we'll just try this for now and then when we're ready to actually get fish to eat we'll use the spear, all right?"

Nanao turned her attention to the water. It soon became engrossing. The first three fish swam out of her reach before she could scoop them out. Instead she ended up getting herself and her merrily laughing captain incredibly wet. When a fourth fish appeared she attacked with gusto but only managed to shovel it out as far as her captain's head. He stood up in shock, which then knocked the poor fish onto Nanao's lap, causing her to jump and push the fish away with a squeal. Kyōraku grabbed her arms to keep her from falling but they both lost their balance and fell back into the water, luckily avoiding the rocks.

"Nanao-chan is not a fisherwoman, I will remember that," he remarked between laughs.

"Oh, don't act so macho! You were the first one to jump up and get it off of you!"

"It was merely from surprise, that's all!"

"Of course it was!"

"I've been scooping fish for a long time and the mere touch of one isn't going to send me jumping around shrieking."

"Making what just happened, what, a freak aberration?"

"Absolutely. Are you hurt?"

"No. Actually I think the fall might have knocked a few knots out of my back."

"That's not so bad then. I think it's going to rain soon, though. Let's get our meal and head back." He helped her up and they made their way over to the shoreline. It didn't take long to return to the spear and he quickly set to work catching fish after fish. Nanao squeezed the excess water out of her khaki skirt and black blouse. This had at one point been a nice outfit. Now it just clung to her skin and dribbled water down her legs. Kyōraku dashed out of the water just as the first thunder rumbles started, his spear lined with several small fish and a few larger ones, some still swelling their gills.

"Come on, watch your step!" He called. They hurried down the path as the first rain began to fall. It was soon a torrent and they were even more soaked when they reached the house. Nanao was glad to see it was still empty.

"I'll start a fire, you run upstairs and find a couple yukata. There might be a towel or two as well."

She ran up the stairs and rooted through the closets. She did find two yukata and sashes. They were musty with a few moth holes, but they would cover what needed to be covered and were mercifully dry. Towels were not to be found so she used an extra sheet to at least partially dry herself off. She quickly changed and scampered back down the stairs to hand a sheet and a yukata to her captain.

"These are the best I could find."

"Thanks." He'd gone outside to root through the garden for more vegetables and was dripping all over the tatami.

"Dry off here!" she commanded. "I'll go upstairs or turn my back or something, but if you go up like that you'll ruin the floors."

He held his hands up and looked at the room around them. "Because this is such a palace? I think you just want me to get naked around you."

"Fine, your house, do whatever you want. Meanwhile, I'm going to start cutting the vegetables and I don't think you want to irritate me when I have a knife in my hand."

"Aw, but you're so cute when you're threatening."

She ignored him and started cutting. He sighed and used the sheet to dry off then ran upstairs to change. She didn't hear him descend and nearly dropped the knife with a loud gasp as she felt him put his arms around her waist.

"There, nice and dry, see?" he cooed into her ear.

"Let go, Taichō," she said in an even tone and continued chopping.

"But I don't want to. Nanao-chan's warm and I'm cold."

"Then go sit by the fire."

"Come sit with me."

"I'm busy."

"Then I'll stay here."

"Then I'll stop chopping." This was a paltry attempt at negotiation, but at least if it seemed they wouldn't be eating for a while he might give in. It appeared not.

"That's all right, I'll take over." He moved his hands to take the knife and carrot from her and started cutting it. She was meanwhile trapped with his large frame surrounding her.

"Well then is there anything I can do?" she asked icily. His breath on her neck was unpleasantly distracting.

"Stay here. You make for a good chin rest."

"Taichō!"

"All right, all right. You can check the pail outside. I set it up to collect rainwater. How much longer till it's full?"

She ducked out from under his arms and looked out the open door in the back. Despite the amount of rain that was falling it was still only half full.

"A little while yet, unless you wanted me to add what's collecting in your shoes?" she asked sardonically.

He chuckled. "I think that might be hazardous to our health. Better let them stay there and get ruined."

"Agreed. What else can I do?"

"Care to gut a fish?"

"Excuse me?"

"Bring me one, let me show you."

She pulled the top fish off the pike and brought it over to Kyōraku, trying not to grimace. He made a few careful slits then yanked on the lower jaw to remove the organs in one go. "What do you think?" he asked with a bemused smile as he met her wide eyes.

"I think it's horrible!"

"I knew you weren't a fisherwoman. You go back to the carrots, I'll take care of these guys."

She was not about to argue with him. Under his expert hands all the fish were soon gutted and he took them outside to wash them in the rain. At that point the bucket was full, so he brought it in and started the water boiling.

"Soup again, I hope you don't mind."

She didn't – as long as he took care of the fish.

Following their meal they sat around the fire saying nothing. Nanao felt like this was déjà vu from a few nights before. Granted, it was still light outside with plenty of day left and it was damp and rainy, but the lazy contented feeling was the same.

"Are you glad you came back?" he asked her.

"I don't know. If we end up satisfactorily concluding this business with your father I'll be very glad we came back."

"I'm not talking about that, I'm just talking about this peace and calm."

She paused before replying. "I enjoy the feeling of relaxation, but I feel guilty. We shouldn't be taking a break like this, not now."

"Everyone needs breaks. Everyone needs time away from work. We need good memories to light the dark times." He smirked to himself. "For example, I'll always remember the face you had when you were trying to catch those fish."

"What? What do you mean?"

"You were completely focused and your arms were just twitching and ready to move at the slightest provocation. I've seen you like that in battle a few times. Little did I know your competitive edge would come out in a simple game."

"I am not competitive!"

His knowing look disagreed.

"I'm not!" she insisted. "I simply think that if you're going to do something, you may as well do it to the best of your ability. It's not my fault no one else seems to be able to accomplish simple tasks correctly."

"Well why should they if you're just going to do it for them anyway?"

There was really no satisfactory response she could give.

"Don't look morose, Nanao-chan. I like you the way you are – obsessive compulsive and anal retentive though you sometimes may be."

"Thank you so much," she replied dryly.

"You're very welcome. And be honest, you wouldn't want me to be the type of taichō who's always doing the proper actions at the proper times and saying the proper things, would you? Not really?"

"I wouldn't know who you were."

"See, and what fun would that be? You have to admit, vexing though I might be at times I _am_ fun."

"You _are_ fun."

"And didn't you have a good time swimming with me this afternoon?"

"Yes, Taichō."

"So… _really_, when you ask if I always have to have my own way… the obvious answer is 'yes' because I'm always right. Ne, Nanao-chan?"

She didn't reply.

"Ne, Nanao-chan? Nanaoooo, Na-na-o-chu-aaaaaan, ne? Ne, ne?"

"Do you think the rain will continue all afternoon?"

He quickly slid on the tatami to position himself just behind her.

"Oh no you don't, admit it! You agree! I _am_ always right!"

"I'm not admitting _anything_!" She started rising up but he grasped her arm and pulled her down before him.

"Then that means you acknowledge it! Ne, Nanao-chan?"

"Not in the least!" she cried as she pushed against him. They struggled for a while with his persistent "Ne, ne, ne" punctuating her slaps and kicks. Finally he held both of her arms above her head and with his body pinned hers to the floor.

"Ne, Nanao-chan?" he said quietly, his face just above hers. She simply swallowed and looked at his face barely above hers. She wasn't sure who moved first but she suspected it might have been she. Their lips met and he released her arms to cup her face with one hand and pull her close with the other. Hers knotted in his hair and caressed his face in an almost frenzy as the kisses continued. He sat up and pulled her against his chest as his lips snaked down her neck.

"The things you'll do to keep from admitting I'm right," he murmured against her skin. She hit him in the chest and kissed him again.


	18. Chapter 18

**We are in the final stretch! Only a chapter or two more to go at this point! This is a pretty long one, but very important! I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 18: Reencounter and Reveal

Several minutes later Nanao pushed Kyōraku away and gasped for breath.

"We can't do this!"

"Oh, really? Well we seem to be doing pretty well for ourselves, but maybe we do need some more practice. I think we'll have the hang of it by sundown." He started kissing down the V of her thin yukata. Nanao's breath caught. She grasped his hair and pulled him up.

"Ow."

"We _can't_."

"I beg to differ, Nanao-chan," he said, turning his face to kiss the inside of her wrist. "We most definitely 'can.' We are certainly exhibiting signs of being fully capable. If you require further proof I am most happy to comply. Meanwhile, if you are trying to imply that we _shouldn't_ do this, well, that's a matter of opinion fully removed from the subject of sheer ability."

"Fine then we _shouldn't_! I mean, if we… then… I mean, what happens _next_?"

"Well," he said slowly after a brief pause. "I personally prefer to let these things happen as they will, but I can provide you with a basic summary that should cover at least the general progression of events."

"That's not what I mean and you know it! I mean… after. What happens after?"

He grinned at her. "Well, ideally, after we do it again."

"Taichō!"

"No, no 'Taichō,'" he murmured as he reached down to kiss her lips and then all about her face. "No more 'Taichō.' If you call me that then I'll feel like I'm abusing my rank."

"Technically you are."

"Oh I don't think this quite counts as 'abuse' in anyone's definition," he said as he made his way around to her earlobe.

"Stop," she said weakly. "I can't think."

"Best compliment you could have ever given me. Don't think. Just be," he whispered into her ear. Intuitively her fingernails dug into his back as she felt his hand trail down her body to her sash. Her hand shot down to cover his when he reached the knot, though. He lifted his head and looked down into her eyes. She was still breathing heavily and her arm was still curled around his back, but there was something in her eyes and demeanor that stopped him where he was.

"All right, Nanao. Talk to me."

"What happens tomorrow? And the day after? And after that? I can't just do this and move on like it never happened."

"I'd be severely offended if you did," he agreed. He released the sash knot and reached up to trace light designs on the small triangle of skin just below her neck that lay exposed from the cotton robe. "Well, let's see. Tomorrow we'll be back in Seireitei. We will probably have just enough time to get resettled and you'll start going on about paperwork. Then word will come in that Aizen has entered the false Karakura. Orders will be sent out and we'll all spring into action. The day after that and after that there will be a lot of fighting and dying. Very bad setting for lovemaking. Quite unpleasant. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to make time for you."

Nanao turned away. He cradled her cheek and turned her back around to face him. Her glasses and hair clip had long ago been discarded leaving her raw, vulnerable and beautiful.

"I don't know the future," he said gently. "I can't predict anything that will happen. But I do know that this," he kissed her lips, "has been a long time in coming. Maybe even now it's a little too early. I don't think so, though. I think this is our time, no matter whatever else is happening."

"Did you plan all this?"

"What, coming back to the house and sweeping you off your feet with my impressive fish gutting technique? If you'll remember correctly, I didn't even want you to come initially. But I don't regret your insisting on accompanying me. You've gone through a fair amount on my account these past few days. Every situation you've come through stronger, more determined and more in control. I'm proud of and impressed with you, my Nanao-chan. I don't know why or how exactly, but little by little you've gained more confidence and self-assurance. And while I know you don't need your taichō by your side looking out for you, but I hope you won't mind your devoted Shun-kun trailing along behind you from time to time." He picked up her hand and kissed it. She lightly traced the outline of his face.

"So… you're _not_ denying that you at least partially planned this."

He grinned impishly at her. "We did have to come back to return the gigai anyway and since you refused to go with Jūshirō… well, why waste a good opportunity?"

She smiled and shook her head. That was quintessential Kyōraku Shunsui. She wasn't offended at all, particularly since it was a pure reflection of the man for whom a thousand emotions were now welling up inside of her.

"So what does this mean now?" she asked.

"I hope this means I can go back to what I was doing."

"No! I mean outside of here. Back in Seireitei. Back when we're working. How will we translate _this _in?"

"You want me to spell out the terms of our relationship before it's even had a chance to begin?"

"It began a long time ago."

"True, but this was a seriously needed push in the right direction."

"We can't let anyone know."

"Sweetheart, this is not exactly going to take anyone by surprise. And while Yama-ji might not overlook my personal offenses, he is hardly going to call the war off to penalize two commanding officers for having a romance."

"And after the war?"

"One step at a time, Nanao-chan. Will we eventually have to pay for the pleasure of one another's company? If all goes well, then yes, likely. In the meanwhile, will you please just let me love you?"

Her smile and shining eyes answered for her. He kissed her deeply then sat up and pulled her onto his lap where he cradled her.

"I didn't think this was what you had in mind."

"Oh believe me, it's not. But I don't have to make love to you to love you. I want you to know that. It's taken a long time to get to this point. I'm not letting one moment of premature passion chase you away. I finally have you in my arms and I'm not going to allow anything drive you out of them, are we clear on this point?"

"Mmhmm." She smiled and settled into his warm embrace.

He chuckled and kissed her damp hair as he pulled her closer. "You drive me mad sometimes, Nanao-chan."

"I understand the feeling."

They stayed like that for a long time, watching the fire and listening to the rainfall outside. The small house was musty and dank but Nanao felt giddy and warm as she lay in his arms. He loved her. She loved him. The world and all its complexities seemed to boil down to those two simple facts. As long as his arms were around her, negativity ceased to exist. Everything ceased to exist. Wars and traitors and shinigami and hollows and yes even high-heeled shoes faded from reality. Nothing was real beyond this small tatami room, the fire before them, and the man lightly stroking her arm. She looked up at him. A light smile played upon his face. Her gaze went slightly lower and she saw a brass pendant gleaming in the firelight that she hadn't noticed before.

"What's this?" She reached up to finger it. It was small, octagonal and the base had a tiny hinge. He unclasped it from around his neck and placed it in her hand.

"You'll probably find out soon enough. When I tell you to, open it and use it. You'll know what to do." He tipped her chin up and kissed her. "You're happy?"

She nodded.

"You're not feeling like you want to run off in the rain and never seen me again?"

She shook her head.

"You're not regretting what's just happened?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

"I seriously doubt it."

"Or what's inevitably _going_ to happen?"

"I'll withhold judgment till then."

"Good." He pulled her closer and tucked her head under his chin. Nanao was on the verge of sleep when she felt his body stiffen and his arms tighten around her. She woke up and her head shot up to look at him. His eyes and ears were keenly attuned to the door. A few minutes later she heard its swollen wood scrape along the base. Her captain's father stood beyond the door, his frame covered in her black cape. He blinked in surprise at seeing them then slowly entered and removed his boots.

"Ah, Shunsui. I didn't know you were using this as a love nest. It's not very much, but there is a quaintness to it, I suppose, and it _is_ far from the disapproving eyes of Soul Society. I'm glad to see you have the fire going. I'm drenched through." He stepped up onto the tatami floor and started heading for them. His son's cold tone stopped him short.

"Why don't you take off your cloak, Oyaji? It's Nanao's anyway."

She attempted to move away from his grasp but he held her fast. The older man looked at both of them warily before undoing the clasp and laying the garment on the floor beside them.

"A reiatsu-blocking cape? Interesting you'd have that, young lady. Aren't those against the law?"

"Aren't you?" Kyōraku-taichō responded with a cold smile.

"All right, Shunsui. I understand you don't want me here. Give me a few minutes to put my shoes back on and I'll be out of here."

"No no, stay for a while. We've been waiting here especially for you. Come sit by the fire. You're shivering."

The older man edged cautiously towards them and sat down, helping himself to leftovers.

"I thought I told you never to seduce your assistants, Shun. You can't afford to have them mad at you when you break it off."

"Well some things are worth the risk. And some things aren't."

"I assume you want me to read some special meaning into that last statement. I'm a little out of touch with your particular form of filial disgruntlement, though; you'll have to explain what you mean."

"What happened to Kana?"

"What, are you going to blame me for that too? A tragedy. A mistake. The worst thing that could possibly befall a person. I know you think I'm responsible for the king's murder and therefore could have prevented Kana's death, but I didn't know anything about it."

"Who _did_ kill the king?"

"Oh, so now you believe it wasn't me? So nice of you to come around and resume a bit of faith in your old man, Shunsui, but it's been quite a while in the coming don't you think?"

"Baba and I had a chat. She made me realize that given the circumstances someone probably beat you to the job."

"So now you're accusing me of intending to kill the king if not actually doing the deed?"

"You _did_ conspire to kill his children, Oyaji. Don't pretend you're innocent."

"Which is not nearly as bad as actually _doing _it you have to agree!"

"Which is why you're still alive. What actually happened to the king? What happened to Kana? What deal have you made with Aizen?"

"I'm not here for you to abuse and ignore for years and then suddenly come down when it's convenient for you and answer whatever questions you throw at me. I've done pretty well without you, Shunsui, and I'll continue doing just fine so you might as well take your fukutaichō and return to your little office."

"I thought you said you wanted to rekindle relations between you and your sons, particularly in your old age," Nanao noted. He glared at her.

"This doesn't concern you, Ise-san."

"It absolutely concerns her, Oyaji," the younger Kyōraku interjected. "Normally you'd be saying or doing anything to return to Soul Society, which leads me to believe you have another way of getting back and making use of Itakeru-kun."

"Itakeru? There's a name I haven't heard for a while. How is my only grandson?"

"Fairly well. He's taken quite a shine to Nanao-chan, actually. You just missed him. Baba brought him down."

"What?" he snapped. "He's not to leave the palace walls!"

"Yes, well, Baba recognized that whoever conspired to have Kana killed might also want Itakeru out of the way, so she drew him out and brought him to the real world for his own protection."

"You fool! The real world's not safe for him!" He stood and started pacing in a tight circle.

"Oh, it's not? Oh, dear I didn't know that. Um, but would you mind telling me _why_ it's not safe?"

"Well, it's just… _not_! No one knows how important he is. He could be hurt or killed!"

"Oh, please, he's the dead king's youngest son; he's not _that_ important. And it might do the boy a bit of good to learn how to watch out for himself."

"You fool!" His father spat out and stood to pace. "We have to find him and get him back to the palace immediately! Where did Baba take him?"

"She took him to the temple."

The tension slowly eased out of his father's frame and he sat back down.

"The temple? Well… maybe it's not too terrible after all."

"I thought you might see it that way."

"Your uncle will look after him."

"Undoubtedly. I asked him to come here, by the way."

"You think he's going to take me back with him? You think I'll go along with that? Don't be ridiculous, Shunsui."

"I don't think that at all. After all the difficulty you've put Jiji-chan through I'm sure he's enjoying this break from having to keep after you. I just thought you'd appreciate a little reunion, that's all."

"Is he bringing Itakeru-sama with him?"

"I doubt it. You see, he's no longer there."

"What?" The tension returned and he stood back up.

"Oh no, Baba had Nī-chan go get him."

"Well, where is he?" He demanded desperately. "Did she take him back to my house?"

"I'd hope not! She burned that down, didn't you know?"

"She… burned it?" He sat down with a plop.

"I know it probably suits your ego to think she came to stay with you out of some sort of loyalty but Baba never really liked you. And you know how dangerous an annoyed Baba can be."

"Where did she take Itakeru?" His father demanded.

"Now, now, Oyaji. I don't really like to be yelled at," Kyōraku-taichō pouted.

"Do you have any idea what could happen?" He snapped.

"Enlighten me," his son responded, his tone suddenly serious.

"I… well, I… that's not to say I'm _aware_ of anything, but it could be very dangerous for him, Shunsui! We'd be letting Kana down."

"I think she'd appreciate knowing we're looking out for her only son, don't you?"

"Enough of this, Shunsui. Tell me where he is."

"Well not if you're going to use _that_ tone! Ask Nanao-chan here, I'm not very compliant if you try to yell at me, am I?"

"You're not very compliant _any_ way if you don't want to be," she responded.

"Agreed. So, you see, Oyaji, if you want me to cooperate, you have to make it worthwhile for me."

"This is your nephew's _life_!"

"Yes, so you'd better think quickly, hrm?"

"Just what it is you want from me?" the elder Kyōraku asked with a sigh.

"Well that's an unexpected question. Hrm, what _do_ I want from you? Well, for starters, could you scoot over? I hear Jiji-chan outside and he always likes to spread out a bit."

His father sighed in exasperation and moved to the side as the wooden door slid open again. There stood Jiji-chan, blinking in surprise at the accumulated group.  
"Well, is this all right? I couldn't come earlier because by the time I got your message the first bus had already left, Shun-kun, and there are only a few buses a day so I had to wait until now and I got very wet in the rain out there and I do hope you have something to drink and is that fish?" he asked rapidly.

"Come on in, Jiji-chan!" Shunsui called merrily. The older man slid out of his sandals and puttered across the floor to sit between his brother and nephew. He glanced curiously at Nanao but she simply met his gaze evenly. Inside she was mortified to be found reposing in her captain's arms, but he seemed to want her to stay there and she'd learned so far to follow his lead.

"Where's Itakeru-sama?"

Jiji-chan blinked in surprised at his older brother's icy tone.

"Ba… Baba said she was bringing him to you!"

The father looked coldly at his youngest son. "This is not funny, Shunsui."

"I should say not. I haven't had a good laugh since you got here. Most disappointing."

"Where is the boy?" His father asked pointedly.

"Well, I can't say for _absolute _certain, now can I? Maybe he left."

"Shunsui, stop this! We do not have the time!"

"Really? Do you have something better to do this afternoon? I didn't know that. Well don't let me keep you, Oyaji."

"Maybe I should go," Jiji-chan said cautiously.

"Don't be ridiculous, you just got here. Besides, there's not another bus for hours and I wouldn't dream of seeing you climb that mountain in the rain!"

There was silence and the brothers looked at one another.

"What are you waiting for, Shunsui?" his father finally said. "What is it you want from us?"

"I want a story. And I want it now."

"I used to read you stories when you were a little boy! Do you remember that?" Jiji-chan piped up.

"I do indeed. That's not the story I want, though. I want the one where you got tired of being, as you saw it, unfairly exiled with my father and started pursuing avenues where you could get him bumped off and you brought back to Soul Society in triumph."

Jiji-chan's eyes grew wide.

"Now it's _he _who is the traitor? Are you just going to keep accusing every single member of your family until you're satisfied? Is your brother next?" His father scoffed.

"Nī-chan is guilty of many things, Oyaji. I'm well aware of that. Mostly he's guilty of inaction. He likes to pretend nothing bad ever happens and prefers to choose the easiest solution, rather than the right one. Last I knew he wasn't planning on killing anyone, though."

"And I suppose you imagine you're the perfect one of the family?" His father said snidely.

Shunsui burst out laughing. "If I ever thought that Nanao-chan would be quick to disabuse me of the notion!"

"This from the man who insists he's always right?" she remarked. Her prior happiness started to turn cold. She was starting to glimpse that there were parts of the story her captain had neglected to tell her. Nonetheless, she would support him and follow his lead.

"That's different. You can still be right and not be perfect, as I habitually am."

"Well you just admitted that you were mistaken when you thought I had something to do with the king's death," his father pointed out, earning him a glare.

"Quiet. This was going really well for me. Besides, you _did_ have something to do with the king's death, at least it's aftermath. However, I think I finally found out who it was that was _really_ mistaken."

"Oh well you must let us in," his father said flatly, folding his arms.

"Kana was."

"Now it's your sister's doing? Oh this gets better and better."

"No no, Kana didn't do anything wrong exactly. Well, nothing beyond admitting to something she didn't do. I've been trying to figure out the final pieces for the longest time, well before I came down here and had my chat with Baba. Certain things just didn't fit. And now they do."

"So, let us in on this mystery. Who killed the king?"

"Nobody. He died of injuries just like we all thought. I saw the reports. Unohana herself was one of the presiding doctors and I'd trust her opinion any day. I've wrapped my head around it several times, but I think the original finding was the correct one."

"Then how did our family get targeted?"

"Because someone wanted it to be. There was somebody who had been a casualty of your plotting but who had not 'apparently' been guilty of anything. And, well, as long as you were around he would always be trapped here looking after you."

His father looked accusingly at his younger brother.

"Is what he's saying true?"

"Of course not! Shun-kun, it's me, Jiji-chan! I wouldn't do that."

"Do what? Notify the palace guards that someone in the Kyōraku family was involved with the previous king's death? Lead them to believe it might be Kana so they'd follow her to the real world, assuming she would deny everything and create enough of a fuss that Oyaji would come forward? He wouldn't even have to admit any part in the plot; once they saw he'd faked his death that would be enough to direct suspicion to him, thereby sparing Kana, Nī-chan and me. All you'd have to say was that he'd tricked you into coming with him but once you'd learned the truth you endeavored to set things right. Then you could return a hero."

"Is this true?"

"Jiji-chan's been looking for any way possible to incriminate you and move back to Soul Society. Isn't it interesting he didn't raise a fuss when you left the temple even though that was a breach of our agreement? I'll bet he even encouraged your alliance with Aizen, didn't he?"

Jiji-chan's large head bounced back and forth as he looked from nephew to brother.

"Get ready," Shunsui whispered into Nanao's ear. She hid the pendant from view and opened it. On the inside she saw a small skull surrounded by blue flames. She knew what to do and she was more than ready to leave her captain's grasp. He hadn't told her everything after all. He didn't fully trust her after all. She felt used and mislead, but she would still do her job.

"Shunsui! I would never… that is… this family is all that I… well! After all I've done for you and this is what you… I'm not staying any longer!" Jiji-chan started to rise. Nanao was quicker. She pressed the pendant against her and sprang out of her gigai. Her zampakutō was drawn and pressed to his throat before he could even straighten a leg. He made a strangled noise as he was suddenly stopped.

"I think we can all agree Nanao is much more than just a pretty face. I'd suggest sitting back down and staying there."

"Well, my boy! I had no idea we had such a traitor in our family!" His father said gravely.

"Are you kidding? I think it's established in our gene pool. I had a feeling the coup may not have entirely been your idea; you were just foolish enough to act on it. I had to do something to get you out of the way, but at the same time I sent Jiji-chan down here to watch over you both because I knew if he had no problem setting up and betraying his brother, he wasn't going to let a nephew or two stand in his way. It was as much his banishment as it was yours. You see, Oyaji, while you wanted to be regent, Jiji-chan just wanted to be the head of the family. He's always had the intelligence for it, just not the charisma and unfortunately was born second. You meanwhile, have more guile and craftiness than nearly anyone I knew, but you're not very intuitive. That's why Jiji-chan and Aizen have been able to so easily manipulate you."

"I don't know what this Aizen business is!" He insisted.

"Sure you do. You might not know that's the man you're working for, but it is. I'm guessing Jiji-chan understood it all, but he wasn't about to interfere when you were aligning yourself with Seireitei's most wanted criminal. Let me guess, 'someone' approaches you, suggests things aren't right in Soul Society and that it's time for a change? He'll be in control and will straighten up the whole mess, but to keep people from worrying, they'll need to maintain the imperial line. Surely you have gripes against the judicial system and, my, don't you have a royal grandson? What a perfect solution – establish a puppet king, you get to be return home and be regent. As long as Jiji-chan stays on your good side, you'll bring him back with you. If he doesn't, well, you'll have eliminated yourself as a threat and he can figure out something else then. I don't suppose, by the way, that the man who approached you was blind by any chance?"

His father gasped in surprise.

Shunsui nodded. "I thought that's about the approach he'd use and given that your eyes kept getting bigger and bigger and your fists clenched more and more, I figured I was on the right trajectory."

"What do we do with them, Taichō?" Nanao asked.

"I've enlisted some help. They're wearing reiatsu blockers, but if everything went according to plan they're waiting outside. Come on in, Soifon."

The front and back doors opened, revealing Soifon and a retinue of the secret police.

"Do you have proof?" she asked.

"Yama-ji's been accumulating evidence for years. When I talked to him before I left he said they'd finally tracked down how the rumor about the king's murder started. A young recruit to the royal guard was in the real world training. Jiji-chan found him and leaked the story. Eager for a quick career boost he returned and found some false documents Jiji-chan had stored before leaving Soul Society. He was killed under mysterious circumstances soon after Kana died, but the documents have been found and there are other guards who are at least able to testify how and in what manner he produced them. We simply needed to get both of them together."

She nodded and directed her soldiers to take both men into custody.

Shunsui looked sadly upon his father. "I knew that while you weren't blameless it wasn't as completely your fault as it seemed. I tried to make this exile as pleasant for you as possible. I couldn't reveal what I suspected about Jiji-chan until there was sufficient evidence for fear he'd vanish. As long as he stayed with you, you still seemed to be the primary criminal and he'd at least by all appearances avoid detection. I had to go along with that. Then you had to be stupid enough to fall for Aizen's trap. What you don't realize is that he doesn't care about a puppet king; he would have killed Itakeru alongside the rest of the imperial family and you would have been next. He just needed you nearby so he could use you to bring me down at a time Soul Society can't afford another corrupt captain. You were going to betray us all and you weren't going to gain a single thing from it."

"Why didn't you say something before?" His father cried.

"I was supposed to be completely uninvolved. Every move I made had Yamamoto's seal of approval. Soul Society has been aware of this entire situation since before you went into hiding. Yama-ji said the only way to keep Nī-chan, Kana and me out of this was if I did nothing without this knowledge and kept the investigative aspect of it in secrecy. Even Nanao and Nī-chan didn't know. I had to maintain the pretense that I believed you'd killed the king until the truth was known. Then when I returned a few days ago I needed to observe each of you individually and then find a way to lure you together. I needed to see your expressions and reactions to know I was right. I'm sorry I am."

Soifon directed the guards to take the two men outside, Jiji-chan protesting the entire time.

"We'll need you to help us file the charges and submit the paperwork. Are you prepared to return?"

"I'd like a little more time to wrap up loose ends," he said hopefully. She shook her head.

"There's no time for that. We suspect Aizen may move at any moment. You need to return with us now."

Kyōraku looked over at Nanao. She folded her arms.

"I'll can wait to yell at you until we're back in the office." She turned to follow Soifon.

He groaned, pulled down the fire, used the pendant lying on the floor to push his shinigami form out, and then shuffled unhappily out of the house into the still pouring gray afternoon.


	19. Chapter 19

**Final chapter! Thanks for hanging in for the ride, everyone! I hope you enjoyed it. I might add to it later on when the manga or anime reveals more insight to the battle, or I'm thinking of another story with these two set during my impression of what's likely set to be a fairly long war. **

**Please let me know what you think both with this chapter and the story in general! Thanks everyone!**

Chapter 19: Preparations

Nanao stood quietly as her captain's father and uncle were taken to Seireitei and locked up. She listened intently as Kyōraku started to recount just what their crimes were. With a sigh he stopped talking and merely accepted the heavy stack of paperwork Soifon handed him. She didn't care what the charges were, merely that they were properly recorded – in triplicate. Nanao did not say a word. She curiously watched Soifon to try to discern how much she may or may not have heard of her… 'interactions' with her captain. For her part Soifon's behavior didn't reveal anything. She had come to the real world to do a job. It had been done. Now she was back in Soul Society and was still doing her job. Nanao saw much of herself in the second division's captain. _There but for Kyōraku-taichō go I_, she thought as she rolled her eyes. He made sure she did not become too preoccupied with work. She was too preoccupied with him – just as he liked it.

Ss they walked silently back to the eighth division's office she was surprised how clear her mind seemed. If anything, she should be angry or afraid or tearful or something other than just calm. However, something seemed numb inside. Her passion was dulled by an unhappy weight. What was it caused by? Disappointment? Nervousness? She wasn't entirely certain. At the very least Kyōraku was leaving her alone. That was a relief. She was still trying to figure out her feelings; she didn't want to try to figure his out too.

Well, he _had _been leaving her alone. That changed as they climbed the stairs to the eighth division's office.

"Ne, Nanao-chan," he murmured quietly. She ignored him and increased her pace. Equanimity was gone. The quiet calmness faded the moment he opened his mouth. Now she just wanted to get away from him. She nearly ran to the office door, slid it open, grabbed the giant tome she'd been dreadfully missing the past few days and turned to leave. However, Kyōraku was there. His large body filled the doorframe. There was no room for her to get by.

"Let me pass," she said in a steely tone.

"Now now, Nanao-chan – that's not a very polite tone to use with your taichō," he chided. She narrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. He'd been reunited with his pink haori and straw hat and seemed confident and at ease. This was the captain she knew and was vexed by so easily. In some ways it was if the real world trip had never occurred.

"Please let me through, Kyōraku-taichō."

"I thought you promised me a lecture when we got back."

"Are you going to make me have to go out the window?"

He stepped forward and reached up to stroke her face. She hit him with her book then gasped. She had smacked him several times with this very volume, but she had never before used it to strike him across the face. He too noticed the difference. This wasn't an annoyed tap from an aggravated employee. This was a forceful hit from an angered lover. Despite her calm exterior, this surge of violence hinted at the rage and hurt in Nanao. Even more telling was the fact that she didn't apologize. Nanao trembled with the realization that she had so assaulted her commanding office and also with the mortification that she'd let him see how much he'd upset her. However, she presented a steely front.

"I'm sorry, Nanao," he finally said quietly.

"You lied to me."

"Weeell, only a little," he half-admitted in a small voice.

"You lied to me _completely_!" she exploded. "You told me you couldn't tell Yamamoto-Genryūsai about what your father had done but he knew _all along_!"

"Oh, I see, so you actually preferred it when I was guilty of aiding and abetting a traitorous criminal and might at any point be found out and killed? Nanao-chan, I never knew you were so into to the bad boy type."

"Don't try to be glib with me!" she shouted fiercely. "You trust me or you don't trust me, but you will never, _ever_ lie to me again!"

"Let me explain," he entreated.

"I don't care! I do not care anymore. In all likelihood whatever you tell me will be contradicted twenty minutes later. It's your family and it's your business and it's your mess. I want nothing to do with it, and outside of work I want nothing to do with _you._"

"You'll understand everything if you just let me explain the whole situation to you. I can do that now. I didn't want to deceive you or anyone, but I had no other choice. _That_'s why I didn't want to tell you anything; it was either nothing at all or the deception, and like I said I didn't know how you'd react to that."

"But luckily for you I played along and supported you. Isn't that wonderful?" she bit out sarcastically. "You can do whatever you want to anybody and just use charm and laziness to sleaze out of any responsibility or culpability whatsoever. I am _tired_ of being manipulated!" she screeched as she shoved him away. She turned to her desk and with one large sweep of her arm cleared it entirely. Papers and books flew to the floor.

"There! No one ever reads the paperwork? Then fine, I'll just let it lie there. In fact, why not get rid of it entirely?" she turned and with a quick spurt of kidō reduced the majority of the papers to ashes. "Isn't that a relief? No more Nanao-chan running after you to read or sign or even _acknowledge_ the mountains of paperwork that come in by the hour. You can just lie around and get slobbering drunk all day long without anyone having to come and remind you of your duties or responsibilities. You can run the squad entirely as you like; I won't interfere at all. Ruin it for all I care. But whatever you do with them, your behavior is going to change completely when it comes to me. You will _not _flirt with me, you will _not_ patronize me, you will _not_ use your sexist, chauvinist piggish ideas of what 'girls should or shouldn't do' with me, and you will most definitely _not_ call me Nanao-chan! Is that clear, Kyōraku-taichō?"

He paused and simply looked at her. She was shaking from head to foot.

"Do you feel better?" he finally asked calmly.

She bit her lip and turned away. "I don't even know how to answer that."

"Shh." He stepped forward and pulled her head against him as he embraced her. She still stood stiffly with her hands clenched tightly at her sides but she did allow him to hold her.

"Well I think I've probably had that coming for a while. I never dreamed you'd go so far as to actually disintegrate the paperwork. I wish I'd thought of that. I think the floor's beyond repair, though. But that's okay, it matches the sake stain in the corner."

"Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that." She turned to look. Indeed, there was a splayed black mark. Worse yet, two of her books had singed covers. With a cry she extricated herself from her captain's arms and knelt to pick up her books.

"What have I done?" she cried.

"We can get you new ones," he said comfortingly, squatting beside her.

"That's not the point."

"Well, what is the point? The fact that you finally released decades worth of anger and frustration that was particularly added to over the course of the past couple days?"

"I lost control," she said as she shook her head in disbelief. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"So what?" he reached over to place a comforting hand on her back. "I'm hardly going to penalize you because you slightly trashed the office. You forget I was raised by Baba. If she burned down a house just because she was a little irritated and looking for attention, you should see what she'll do when she's actually angry."

"I_ lost control_, taichō! I let my emotions and fatigue get the better of me and I lashed out. I behaved extremely inappropriately _and _childishly. I cannot afford that sort of selfish behavior, particularly in a time of war!" she said harshly. She sighed and shook her head again. "_You _never lose control," she remarked bitterly.

"Mm, true," he agreed. "It is very rare for me. But that's because I don't let things upset me as you do. If I'm displeased with something or someone, I'll probably say so then and there and then have a drink and move on. You feel you don't deserve the right to express yourself honestly and so you bite your tongue. And look at what happens: see how the innocent suffer?" he said with a sigh as he reached over to pat the books in her hands.

She shrugged his hands off of her and stood up. He sighed and settled himself on the floor.

"I did lose control pretty recently, though, if you'll remember. With Oyaji. Sure, I knew he didn't kill the king and was only pretending I thought he had, but I still don't trust the guy. He's not a _terrible_ man, but he's not a good one either. He wouldn't be above using you to get to me, or just using you. I was livid when I found out he'd gotten you alone with him. Things seemed to be going so badly just then. I was making no progress with resolving the problems with Jiji-chan, Ukitake wanted my help to relocate Karakura, Nī-chan was still trying to figure out how to get all of this tied up nice and neatly with the least amount of effort or inconvenience or involvement from him, I still hadn't found Baba, and through it all I knew you were exasperated with just following along and not being entrusted with any background information or insight. And then you reencountered Lisa and I didn't realize just how vulnerable _that_ exchange would make you. Then to top it all off, Oyaji gets you in his clutches. I don't know the last time I was so angry, but it probably involved him."

"Couldn't you just have a drink and move on?" she asked coldly.

He caught her eye. "Not when it comes to people I care about," he said earnestly. "And whether you believe me or not, I _do_ care about you. That was no lie."

She turned and looked out the window. The officers were out in the courtyard practicing their sword skills. It might all be futile, but it was good to know they wouldn't give up without a fight. That realization buoyed her spirits a little.

"I am going to tell you the whole truth now, Nanao. You might not want to hear it and please feel free to ignore me if you wish. However, I am going to explain everything to you and not because you're entitled to it, although you are, but because I want you to know. Okay?"

"Do as you please," she said quietly. "You always do anyway." He paused for a moment and began.

"You already know my sister Kana was the king's consort. They had a son, my father was an advisor and everyone seemed happy. And, as you know, when the king unexpectedly died my father planned a coup that would result in the death of all children except for Kana's. He would then happily rule as his grandson's regent. And, if you remember, it was Jiji-chan who uncovered the plot. That's all true. The part I didn't tell you is that, as far as I can tell, Jiji-chan likely put the idea in Oyaji's head. If things worked, he'd benefit from his brother's elevated position, and if not it wouldn't look like he was the one responsible. The plot was never very feasible to begin with, though. It was mostly talk. I don't think Oyaji could have gone through with it even if he was set on it, but I'm not sure if he ever realized that. Jiji-chan did and reported everything to Nī-chan and me to get out of trouble himself. I think he realized, though, that we couldn't just turn in Oyaji and his followers and hope to escape with no punishment at all. The whole clan would be affected. We'd lose our elevated status and our retainers at least. Jiji-chan didn't want that. He just wanted to be the head of the family."

"How could you tell? He seemed so jovial."

"He is. That's not a lie. However, he's deeply discontented. I knew that growing up. There's good ole Jiji-chan – the spare heir of the noble Kyōraku family. Or at least he was until Oyaji had sons. He and I were always close – we were in the same situation, after all. I learned some of my best habits from him, actually; although you'd probably think they're my worst. Nothing much was ever expected of us except that we live to adulthood and present ourselves if anything ever happened to the head of the family. I at least had a burgeoning career ahead of me in the Gotei 13, whether I wanted it or not. Jiji-chan didn't have that. He didn't even have the good looks or charisma of my father; he was just funny, dopey Jiji-chan. He never fully accepted his lot in life. I learned that pretty quickly from his occasional bitterly sarcastic statement or the sigh of envy. He kept the happy face but he was seething underneath. He knew he was much more intelligent than anyone ever gave him credit for. I knew that too. It's like I told Baba – people have a remarkable tendency to do exactly what it is they are capable of. He seemed a little too quick to 'regretfully' reveal his brother's betrayal."

"So you knew from the beginning?"

"I suspected from the beginning. I knew nothing, but my suspicions grew deeper when Nī-chan suddenly suggested we just hide Oyaji away. That was entirely fitting with Nī-chan's personality: sweep it under the rug and forget about it. However, there was such detail to the plan. He'd already thought of the temple; it was a self-contained area where it wouldn't be too difficult to restrain someone without exciting anyone's notice. That was very unlike my brother. He's the type to ask you to take care of something but offers no helpful solutions himself. I had a feeling Jiji-chan might have somehow planted the idea in his head. I think I told you, he has all sorts of mind manipulations. I knew something was wrong and that this was something out of my control. It seemed like there was nothing I could do to make it better – if I hid my family's guilt, that would undoubtedly be revealed and we'd all be punished, but if I exposed my father's betrayal and cruel plan my whole family would suffer then too. There was nothing I could do. So I talked it over with Ukitake. I knew what he'd suggest, though: I had to bring Yama-ji in."

"It doesn't seem like Yamamoto-Genryūsai to hold off seeking justice for such a long time," Nanao crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously.

"It's not. Well, not exactly – it is when he gets something in return. Yama-ji's never given up his teacher mentality, particularly when it comes to Jū and me. Finally, at long last he had a means of yoking me in."

She frowned. "He blackmailed you?"

"He negotiated. I knew when I went to him I'd be the one to suffer for this fine fiasco my family got into, but if we were ever to get out of it Yama-ji needed to know. He expressed 'grave concerns' and lamented how terrible it was that 'such a fine family' had come to this. Yes, yes, he wanted to help us and he didn't want the innocent children of such a wicked man to suffer. And really, if my suspicions were correct, well, then wouldn't it be better to let some time go by and see if my uncle was _really_ the culprit?"

Kyōraku sighed and ran his hand over his face. "I wasn't surprised it turned out that way. Oyaji and Jiji-chan were exiled to the real world, although the latter didn't realize he wasn't just there as Oyaji's guardian. Yama-ji got to pretend he was investigating while knowing that the danger was out of the way, no one would ever have to know that the father of one of _his_ students and a captain, no less, had planned to commit such a horrible act, and he had me tightly under my thumb. Any time it appeared I might start stepping out of line he'd 'update' me on his progress with the investigation. Everything seemed fine, more or less. Nī-chan was pleased, Kā-chan had no idea where her loathed husband and brother-in-law had gone and couldn't care, and Baba was satisfied that all seemed well. I was a bit annoyed at Yama-ji and even more so at Oyaji for putting me in that position, but all things considered it could have been worse. The only one who was truly unhappy was Kana. She didn't know what Oyaji did but she couldn't understand why everyone at home was convinced he was dead. I think she suspected his plans, though. Kana didn't allow herself to trust her instincts, but she was pretty bright."

"What happened to change that then? Jiji-chan wanted to come home?"

"Yes, exactly. I think he'd always intended to find some way back to Seireitei. He'd gotten my father thrown out, so he didn't mind having to keep an eye on him for a century or two if he could just find a way to slip back in and somehow wrest control of the family. Nī-chan was head over heels for a girl who, at that time, wanted nothing to do with him. Lisa-chan, by the way, was Yama-ji's present to me – his way of making sure I was kept in line. The old man's really very sly. Anyway, Nī-chan wasn't likely to produce an heir anytime soon, and I was in a very dangerous job where I might be killed at any time. He could take his time and, well, if anything happened in the meanwhile he could take care of it later. He'd gotten rid of one family head, how hard could it be to get rid of one or three more? But I think he was getting tired of the monastic life. This wasn't what he wanted. Yet again, his life had been reduced to keeping after and being second to my father. So, he started to put the second part of his plan in motion – and for that I will never forgive him. Or Yama-ji, for that matter."

"How is he responsible?"

"He swore he'd keep an eye on them. He didn't, or at least not very well. He completely underestimated Jiji-chan. I was furious when I found out about the rumor Jiji-chan had managed to get going back here. I demanded Yama-ji take care of it. He did. He sent royal soldiers to investigate. He guided them to that very temple. He probably thought he was completing his end of the bargain: Oyaji and Jiji-chan would be found and punished and everything would be over. He didn't need to worry about using my relatives to keep me in line – at that point you'd been doing a pretty good job of it for a little while. He didn't know about Kana, though, and Jiji-chan didn't know about Yama-ji's involvement. That was where the mistakes happened. Best I can figure it, Jiji-chan wanted them to suspect Kana and follow her to the temple. They would then see Oyaji, realize he'd faked his death and then arrest him. Jiji-chan could make something up and hopefully get off the hook. He could then go about getting rid of Nī-chan and me. Unfortunately, Yama-ji told the royal guards that he had inside information that someone at the temple was connected with a plot to kill the former king's children after his death. I can't completely blame the guards for piecing together these two damning rumors: someone from the Kyōraku house had killed the king and someone connected with this real world temple had plotted to kill off his children. Kana fit both requirements beautifully. They confronted her, and she probably did confess to the crimes to save my father. I wish I'd told her what was happening. But then, what could I say? 'Your father whom you adored was using you to advance his career?' That he'd even gone so far as to intend to kill her stepchildren? That he was suspected of killing the king? I could have only told her the same as I told you, you see. Yama-ji wanted to protect the honor of beloved Gotei 13 by keeping me out of my family's scandal as much as possible. He made me swear I would never, ever reveal that we suspected Jiji-chan. He wanted no possible investigation that could possibly connect me to insubordination and treason against the king. To my family, I had to maintain the assumption that Jiji-chan was innocent and only Oyaji was to blame. To everyone else, I could say nothing at all, but if need be I would maintain the deception until Jiji-chan and Oyaji were in custody."

"It's unlike you to do anything against your will," she commented.

"Extremely unlikely," he agreed. "And when Kana was killed, I told Yama-ji I was going to reveal everything – including his part of the coverup – unless he could do the one and only thing I cared about at that point. Her soul had not yet been destroyed. If he could at least save it then she could still be reborn. My sister as I knew her was dead. I'd let her down that much, but at least I might be able to save her very essence so she wouldn't be lost forever. Yama-ji agreed to interfere on her behalf. He succeeded, but held her soul as a hostage until everything was finished. He still holds that power over me. I nearly didn't have the courage to stand up to him when poor Rukia-chan was facing her death sentence. But when I did, it took him by surprise. He thought he had me neatly in the palm of his hand. I've grown uncontrollable again. He needs this scandal business finished as soon as possible to make sure I don't turn myself, and him, in. Nī-chan's visit offered that opportunity. Until then Yama-ji wanted me to have nothing to do with Oyaji and Jiji-chan, but at that point he just wanted it over and for no one else to know. He agreed it was possible Aizen had gotten hold of Oyaji and could use him to ruin our reputations and credibility. He fears that more than anything, and so allowed me to come down and finish the last step of the investigation. He had uncovered the only evidence Seireitei was likely to produce in terms of proving _some _involvement and instigation on Jiji-chan's part. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to keep him and Oyaji locked away until this business with Sōsuke is cleared up."

"But why did he want me to go?"

He looked over at her and caught her eye. "You went against Yama-ji once and couldn't so much as breathe in the presence of his reiatsu. I think he thinks he sufficiently intimidated you that you'll never go against the rules again. If I got out of line, I think he was hoping you would keep me from doing anything legally or morally questionable that would only exacerbate the situation. He knows I'd never hurt you if you went against me, making you my weakness and his strength."

"Is that why you didn't want me to come?" she asked coldly. He sighed.

"Not exactly. I wanted to keep you out of this. _I_ wanted out of it, so why would I willingly bring you in? And yes, I didn't want you to get caught in some sort of power struggle between Yamaji and me. It wasn't because I didn't trust you or I thought you would turn on me, though. I hated lying to you. I wanted to tell you the rest, but he still holds Kana's soul. I _couldn't_ disobey that command. And so, I had to let you think the worst – both about my family and about me. I can still hardly believe your reaction, though. You completely dumbfounded me. I expected horror or shock or grief or at least that you'd need to think over what I'd said before deciding what you felt about the situation. I underestimated you. Instead you replied with simple acceptance, faith, trust and sympathy. There was no judgment. I don't think I've ever been so moved in my entire life," he said earnestly.

She shifted uncomfortably and turned back towards the window. "How did the confrontation and arrest take place? How did that come about?"

"I realized with so little time left I was going to have to rush. I was still figuring things out when suddenly I had the added complication of Kana's son. I decided to leave Jiji-chan alone and see what Oyaji was up to first. I figured Jiji-chan wouldn't hurt Itakeru-kun, particularly since he could still use him against Oyaji or to save himself if need be. I was glad Baba got him away from there, but annoyed too because suddenly I had this large group of people on my hands and I needed to get everything settled and finished before the battle started."

"So you tried to get rid of me first?"

"I didn't want you getting caught in the middle of this mess. I wanted to wait until we were back here to tell you the truth, but you stubbornly refused to go with Jūshirō and then I realized that I couldn't send you away to keep you safe and uninvolved; I needed your help. I couldn't depend on anyone there the way I could depend on you. Once I realized that, my course of action seemed clear. When Oyaji's reiatsu disappeared I hoped it was because of your cloak and not because of something Aizen supplied him with. If it was your cloak, he was likely waiting in the house for the battle in Karakura to occur and then accompany Sōsuke up to Seireitei. But, if I was wrong and he wasn't there, I at least didn't want Jiji-chan to slip away. Before coming to get you I tracked Soifon down and asked her to take a team to watch over him. I told her I'd lure him to the house where hopefully Oyaji would be and she was to arrest them both on my command. So, um, if you're at all worried about what she might have seen or heard, well, she didn't see anything because she was outside the entire time and only arrived by following Jiji-chan there."

Nanao nodded. That was one significant relief. She didn't know what her relationship with her captain currently was, but at the very least she wanted it private. She did not have much time for contemplation, though. As she gazed out the window her stomach sank when she saw what was coming towards her.

"Taichō," she said in a strained voice. He sighed as he watched the hell butterfly come in. It hovered in place as it waited for a finger to alight on. Both simply watched it.

"Go ahead, Nanao-chan," he finally said. "We both know what it is."

She held out her finger and the butterfly landed. The message poured forth from her lips.

"Attention all captains of the Gotei 13. The arrancars have arrived in the false Karakura town, led by former captains Tōsen, Ichimaru and Aizen. We will attack using battle plan beta sigma nine. All captains please report at the departure gate. We leave immediately." Nanao sighed and the butterfly flew away.

"Which one is beta sigma nine?" she asked.

"I think it's ash by now."

"Oh dear, the one time paperwork was useful I destroyed it."

He stood and adjusted his hat. "I think I know the one he means. Don't worry about it. I'll have another copy dispatched to you before I go; I'll say we had a clerical error."

"Yes, with the clerk," she mused. "Should I be going with you?"

He walked over to her and turned her around to face him.

"Stay here. And no, this is not me being 'chauvinist piggish,' as you put it. This is me being pragmatic. You're not strong enough for this yet. But listen carefully to me. I'm going to the front lines, but I know you're my backup. If we fail, Aizen's coming for the real Karakura. Yama-ji's designated the eighth division to be the next line of defense. I'll come back and help you as soon as I can, but if I can't you are in command. You will know what to do. There isn't a single arrancar who can match you in wit, intelligence or tactical planning. They're prepared to meet captains, but they're not prepared to meet you. That alone is a serious advantage on our part. Do you understand me, Ise-fukutaichō?"

Her breath caught.

"Yes, Taichō."

He stroked the outline of her face. "And I think we have some unfinished business to attend to when I return, don't we?" he asked gently

"…Yes, Taichō," she responded in a quieter voice.

He took her head in his hands and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Then you better be ready for a long heart to heart when I return, Nanao-chan," he whispered. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feel of his lips caressing her face before resting on her mouth. He paused there for a moment then broke the kiss.

"Take care of yourself, Nanao-chan. That is a strict order."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Any annoyance or unhappiness was gone as she stared into his eyes. Her hand reached up to touch his.

"You too, Taichō. Do you have any other orders?"

"Yes," he responded crisply and kissed her again quickly on the forehead before releasing her face and turning to go. "Practice away on the piano, because I expect a performance when I return."

She smiled. "I'll be ready."

He gave her a quick grin over his shoulder and shunpoed away. She turned and looked out the window. Three new recruits stood gawking up at her. So much for keeping her private life out of the public eye. Oh well. She wanted to get some practice in before sitting down and planning out a few different strategies. And she would meet with the other vice-captains as well. A few of the stronger ones would probably accompany their captains to face the arrancar, but plenty would remain. The new third division captain would probably stay behind as well. They should all be planning defense tactics together. This was a time for the squads to come together and pool their different strengths. This was _not_ going to be a futile exercise. They _would_ be ready.

Besides, she needed to meet with them to find out just what forms she'd destroyed. No matter the chaotic state of the world, there would always be paperwork to be done, and Ise Nanao was there to do it.


End file.
